World leaders must step up the fight against climate change, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Friday, stressing that civilization could collapse as fast as the Roman Empire if no more is done.
Johnson, who made the remarks just hours before the start of a two-day summit of G20 leaders in Italy, said future generations would face famine, conflict and mass migration if no more was done to tackle climate change.
“There is no doubt that this is the reality we have to face,” he told reporters, warning that living conditions could deteriorate rapidly if the world did not change course.
“We saw this with the collapse and fall of the Roman Empire and I’m sorry to say that, but it is still true today,” he said.
This is the first time in two years that most G20 leaders have managed to have face-to-face discussions as the covid-19 pandemic begins to subside in many countries.
The health crisis and economic recovery will dominate much of the talks, but the most difficult and important discussion will focus on how far leaders want to go in order to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere and help the most poor countries to cope with global warming.
The G20 countries, which include Brazil, China, India, Germany and the United States, account for more than 80% of world GDP, 60% of the world’s population and emit about 80% of carbon dioxide.
Many leaders after Rome and the G20 will travel to Glasgow to attend the UN Climate Summit (COP26). It is considered vital to tackle the threat of rising global temperatures and its effects, such as rising sea levels, more severe storms, floods and droughts.
“Shortly before COP26 in Glasgow, all roads to success pass through Rome,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday.
Absent leaders
However, expectations of significant progress have fallen following the decision by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin not to travel to Glasgow and attend the summit via video link.
US President Joe Biden’s hopes of proving that his country is now at the forefront of the fight against global warming have been dashed as he failed to persuade Democrats this week to support a package of environmental spending and support. economy of 1.85 trillion. dollars.
A draft of the G20 final announcement, seen by Reuters, states that leaders will commit to taking immediate action to reduce the Earth’s temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. without, however, making legally binding promises.
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