DILI, 27 september, 2021 (TATOLI) – The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres addressing the High-Level Dialogue on Energy, said Clean and renewable energy would prevent climate catastrophe.
In a statement released from the UN official site, The UN SECGen stated that nearly 760 million people still lack access to electricity. Around 2.6 billion people do not have access to clean water for cooking, how the world produces and uses energy is a major cause of the climate crisis.
“Emissions from energy account for about 75 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. So, we have a double imperative to end energy poverty and limit climate change, we have an answer that will fulfill both imperatives: affordable, renewable, and sustainable energy for all,” The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres commented at the High-Level Dialogue on Energy in the New York.
Mr. Guterres said this is Sustainable Development Goal number seven, where investing in clean and affordable energy for all will improve the well-being of billions of people: “This can create the green jobs we so desperately need for the recovery of COVID‑19 and will advance all the Sustainable Development Goals and be the single most important solution to prevent climate catastrophe,”
Guterres explained that Solar photovoltaic is now the cheapest source of power in most countries and renewable energy generates three times as many jobs as the fossil fuel sector. The sun and wind are the stars of the world’s energy system. During the COVID‑19 pandemic, they are the only source of energy that continues to grow.
“However it is not fast enough. We are far from being able to provide clean and affordable energy for all,” he said.
In 11 sub-Saharan countries alone, a quarter of health facilities lack access to electricity. Globally, 9 out of 10 people breathe polluted air, causing about 8 million premature deaths each year. And disasters exacerbated by climate change are increasing. Access to clean and renewable energy is, quite simply, the difference between life and death.
“We have to solve this challenge this decade and we have to start today. Without the deep and rapid decarbonization of our energy systems over the next 10 years, we will never achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C. This will have fatal consequences for the Sustainable Development Goals, for all of us and the planet,”
Guterres declares that Billions of people will be impoverished and more in poor health while the ecosystems on which all rely on collapse. This is a deep injustice for present and future generations. But this bleak future is inevitable. Science has shown the world exactly how to avoid it: “To limit temperature rise to 1.5°C, it must reduce emissions by 45 percent below 2010 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,”
All countries have a role. Developing countries need to see the promised mobilization of $100 billion per year for climate action and must ensure that 50 percent of climate finance is directed towards adaptation and resilience to impending climate disruption.
“I rely on all countries, especially the main emitters, to rise to this point together with the main players from the business and financial worlds,” he concluded.
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