In his message on International Mother Earth Day, the UN chief pointed out that such global problems threaten the well-being and survival of millions of people around the world.

“The building blocks of happy, healthy lives – clean water, fresh air, a stable and predictable climate – are in disarray, putting the Sustainable Development Goals in jeopardy,” he warned.

“The good news is that there is still hope,” Antonio Guterres stressed, reminding us that “50 years ago, the world came together in Stockholm for the pivotal UN Conference on the Human Environment, which kickstarted a global movement.”

Although many environmental challenges have been addressed, the UN Secretary General stressed, there is still much to be done and more rapid action is urgently needed.

In this regard, he added, we must act as soon as possible to avoid a climate catastrophe, the world must limit the increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius and we are very far from the path to achieve it.

Globally, polluting emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 and carbon neutrality achieved by 2050, the Portuguese diplomat recalled.

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