By Joyce Mukucha
As the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) is just around the corner, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen officially launched a new report, ‘Making Peace with Nature’ which is a scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies.
During an online press briefing on Thursday, Guteress said the world cannot survive and thrive without nature’s outstanding assistance.
“Without nature’s help, we will not thrive or even survive. For too long, we have been waging a senseless and suicidal war on nature. The result is three interlinked environmental crises. Climate disruption, biodiversity loss, and pollution threaten our viability as a species. They are caused by unsustainable production and consumption,” said Guterres.
Andersen echoed as he stressed the need to make peace with nature to ensure that a sustainable future is created for everyone’s around the globe.
“There is indeed no precedent for what we must do, but if 2020 was a disaster, 2021 can and must be the year humanity began making peace with nature and secured a fair, just and sustainable future for everyone,” he said.
The new report also flags the interlinkages between our environmental and development challenges and describes the roles of all parts of society in the transformations needed for a sustainable future.