UN chief lauds Fijians as ‘natural global leaders’ on climate, environment, hails ‘symbiotic relationship’ with land and sea

UN Photo/Mark Garten
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres address the Fijian Parliament in the capital, Suva, on 16 May 2019.


16 May 2019
Climate Change


Fiji’s strong traditions of community and social responsibility, and its “symbiotic relationship” with its surroundings, has made its people “natural global leaders on climate and the environment”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterrestold the nation’s Parliament on Thursday.


“Fiji has taken on the sceptics and the deniers” in a loud and clear voice, he said, “and the world is listening”.

The Secretary-General outlined that Fiji was the first small island State to preside over the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and in 2017, became the first emerging market to issue a sovereign “green bond”, dedicated to environmental conservation. It introduced an Environment and Climate Adaptation Levy; launched a rural electrification programme to reduce diesel emissions; and has relocated villages and established guidelines on how to support people displaced due to climate change.


“Other countries in the region can learn from your example”, he congratulated.

Mr. Guterres pointed to the Fijian legislature as another of the country’s important achievements calling it “a place of inclusiveness, equality, diversity and tolerance”.

“We need that spirit more than ever at this time”, he said, noting rising anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim rhetoric, the persecution of Christians and other forms of xenophobia and racism.

The UN chief stressed the importance of showing solidarity in response to a “dangerous upsurge in hatred” and to combat the hate speech “coarsening our public dialogue in many countries and regions of the world”.

Citing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as “our blueprint for a fair globalization built on prosperous, peaceful and resilient societies on a healthy planet”, he commended Fiji for being the first parliament in the world to undertake an SDG self-assessment.
Climate change defines our time

Noting that climate change is “the defining issue of our time”, Mr. Guterres acknowledged how Fijians have suffered cyclones, floods and droughts, or lost their homes, schools or crops to rising seas, saying “the United Nations stands with you, I stand with you”.

He flagged the importance of financing, underscoring that given the amount of climate change that has already occurred, investment in adaptation “is especially crucial” in the Pacific region.

“We need developed countries to fulfill the pledges they have made
to support action in developing countries – including by mobilizing the public and private sector to reach $100 billion per year to support mitigation and adaptation”, the UN chief said, adding that the “successful replenishment of the Green Climate Fund” is also vital.


To help generate ambition, Mr. Guterres announced that he is convening a Climate Action Summit in September.

“My message to leaders is very clear: Don’t come with a speech; come with a plan”, he asserted. “I want leaders to showcase their plans to enhance Nationally Determined Contributions by 2020, and to cut emissions radically by 2025” by ending subsidies for fossil fuels and unsustainable agriculture and shifting towards renewable energy, electric vehicles and climate-smart practices.

Keys to sustainable growth, peace and prosperity:

Education and healthcare.
Decent jobs and economic opportunities.
Respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
Fundamental freedoms and democratic values.


Carbon pricing must reflect the true cost of emissions, the UN chief said, “from climate risk to the health hazards of air pollution”. That means not constructing any coal plants beyond 2020 and replacing jobs in fossil fuel industries with “cleaner, healthier alternatives, so the transformation is inclusive, profitable and just”.

Noting “rampant” overfishing and plastic pollution that is “poisoning and depleting” the oceans, he emphasized that “the world must do more”.

“The coming years will be a vital period to save the planet and to achieve sustainable, inclusive human development,” he said. “The alarm bells keep ringing”.

“We must address this global emergency with ambition and urgency”, the Secretary-General concluded, adding “every country has a role to play”.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/05/1038581

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Chip Grafting to Create a Tree that Grows 40 Kinds of Fruit | National Geographic

Sam Van Aken, an artist and professor at Syracuse University, uses "chip grafting" to create trees that each bear 40 different varieties of stone fruits, or fruits with pits. The grafting process involves slicing a bit of a branch with a bud from a tree of one of the varieties and inserting it into a slit in a branch on the "working tree," then wrapping the wound with tape until it heals and the bud starts to grow into a new branch. Over several years he adds slices of branches from other varieties to the working tree. In the spring the "Tree of 40 Fruit" has blossoms in many hues of pink and purple, and in the summer it begins to bear the fruits in sequence—Van Aken says it's both a work of art and a time line of the varieties' blossoming and fruiting. He's created more than a dozen of the trees that have been planted at sites such as museums around the U.S., which he sees as a way to spread diversity on a small scale.
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Is global warming the sun’s fault?

About half the sunlight reaching the surface of the planet is radiated upward in the form of infrared heat, absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, warming the surface of the Earth. This “greenhouse effect” is what makes the planet livable. But now, scientific data shows that the warming of the planet is reaching dangerous levels causing a series of alarming disruptions.

“Satellite measurements taken over the past 30 years show that the sun’s energy output has not increased and that the recent warming observed on Earth cannot be attributed to changes in the sun’s activity,” explained WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “The rise in temperatures – which are melting ice and heating the oceans – is driven by long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” he added.

Independent climate change experts warn that if the current trend in greenhouse gas concentrations continues, we may see temperature increases by 3 °C to 5 °C compared to pre-industrial levels, by the end of the century. WMO’s analysis reveals that the 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years, with the top four in the past four years.

To tackle this, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will be hosting a Climate Summit in New York on 23 September, to galvanize climate action and ambition at the highest levels.

As supporting evidence for the discussions, WMO’s 2018 State of the Climate report will be launched on Thursday 28 March. This report will provide an overview of temperatures, high-impact events, and key indicators of long-term climate change such as increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, sea level rise and ocean acidification. It will be launched alongside a high-level event at the UN General Assembly.

Why the hype around solar energy?

The sun provides us with a valuable source of renewable energy that has the potential to replace fossil fuels like coal or oil, for electricity production, heating, and desalinating water, among other things. Its energy can be harnessed directly with “photovoltaics” or “solar cells”, even in cloudy weather.

According to the International Energy Agency, solar power and other renewable sources have become the technology of choice thanks to falling costs and supportive government policies: by 2040, the share of renewables in electricity generation is expected to rise from 25 per cent today to over 40 per cent.

However, power generation from solar cells is strongly dependent on the weather. Therefore, reliable meteorological forecasts are indispensable for balancing the power grid, and will gain even more importance as the renewable energy sector expands.

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Every March 23 marks the anniversary of the 1950 Convention that established the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), is the occasion to take stock of the importance of the sun and weather monitoring for the common safety, health and well-being of all living things on the planet.

Through its national meteorological and hydrological services, WMO has been providing expertise, monitoring and forecast services to both harness and protect us from the power of the sun.

“Too little sun impacts our mood and well-being, and increases the risk of Vitamin D deficiency,” said WMO, noting on the other hand that “overexposure to sunlight causes harmful effects on the skin, eyes, and immune system. Experts believe that four out of five cases of skin cancer could be prevented, as UV damage is mostly avoidable.”

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/03/1035251