Maria José Torres Macho travelled to Antarctica with the UN chief, António Guterres, up of the planetary clime conference, COP28, which is getting underway successful Dubai successful the United Arab Emirates:
“The sleeping continent hides nether its beauty, its undeniable relation arsenic a cardinal clime regulator for the planet. While we enjoyed the majestic and infinite achromatic scenery of islands, glaciers and icebergs spotted with penguins, oversea lions, whales and a chiseled biodiversity underwater, we confronted the world that technological grounds is putting successful beforehand of determination makers astatine this year’s UN Climate Conference -COP 28: the satellite needs the Antarctic to stay arsenic it is.
The UN Resident Coordinator successful Chile, Maria Maria Jose Torres Macho (second from left) joins the Secretary-General and the delegation from the Government of Chile connected a sojourn to Antarctica.
Safeguarding Antarctica is indispensable to halt the acceleration of clime alteration and support to the 1.5°C warming limit.
- The melting of crystal is happening astatine triple velocity than successful erstwhile decades (more than 1.5 cardinal quadrate km person been mislaid successful 2023 alone) causing rising oversea levels that would beryllium catastrophic to the endurance of coastal communities
- The interaction of the expanding temperatures successful the Antarctic is affecting the pitchy streams
'Antarctica is geographically distant for astir of us, but its aboriginal is intimately linked to that of aboriginal generations,' said the Secretary-General during his stay, referring to up however the consequences of what happens determination volition catastrophically impact the remainder of the world.
'What happens successful Antarctica doesn't enactment successful Antarctica,' helium added.
A presumption from Chile
Thousands of miles northbound successful Chile, wherever I service arsenic the UN Resident Coordinator, the effects of Antarctica’s melting crystal and rising oversea levels cannot beryllium ignored.
From cycles of drought, desertification and wildfires to deadly heatwaves, coastal erosion and different utmost upwind events, I’ve seen first-hand however clime alteration is ravaging communities and upending livelihoods crossed the country.
The UN is supporting authorities efforts to forestall biodiversity nonaccomplishment successful Chile.
The interaction of Chile’s h2o situation is peculiarly severe, with agrarian populations facing the heaviest burden.
As these threats loom larger, our UN squad successful Chile is moving intimately with the nationalist authorities to standard up urgent enactment to combat the triple planetary situation of clime change, contamination and biodiversity loss.
Together we are supporting the Government to recognize its ambitious nationalist docket to support Chile’s biodiversity, trim emissions done the enlargement of c markets and steer social, economical and biology transitions that enactment renewable energy. But, Chile’s relation successful combatting clime alteration goes beyond its ain borders.
Leading from the South
Known arsenic ‘the doorway to the Antarctic’, Chile is simply a logistic enabler for galore countries that person technological bases successful the territory and payment from the captious enactment of the Chilean Armed Forces.
During my sojourn to the continent, I listened to galore stories from scientists and officers who spoke astir the peculiar mystique and quality of the Antarctic. I was peculiarly struck by their consciousness of sacrifice and their willingness to walk an full twelvemonth distant from their families successful bid to support this endangered territory.
COP28 is getting underway successful Dubai, UAE.
At the nationalist level, I was besides impressed by the beardown enactment of the President of Chile and his squad for organizing this sojourn and helping to amplify the speech connected clime enactment and the unsocial relation of the Antarctic up of COP28.
Towards COP28
The request for beardown determination enactment and renewed commitments towards clime enactment could not beryllium timelier.
Just days earlier we travelled to Antarctica, the satellite reached a grim caller milestone. For the archetypal clip successful modern recorded history, the satellite is connected mean 2 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels, falling abbreviated of the commitments made successful the Paris clime agreement.
In Antarctica, I saw the interaction of these failed promises, but besides witnessed the determination of the Secretary-General to convey a strong message from the South: to extremity the world’s addiction to fossil fuels, COP 28 indispensable beryllium a telephone to action, not conscionable words. The committedness and practice I saw connected my sojourn to Antarctica shows that this is possible.
As the Secretary-General enactment it: 'People successful Antarctica are guided by cooperation, not competition; this is the tone we request astatine COP28.'"
- The UN Resident Coordinator, sometimes called the RC, is the highest-ranking typical of the UN improvement system at the state level.
- In this occasional series, UN News is inviting RCs to blog connected issues important to the UN and the state wherever they serve.
- Learn much astir the UN’s enactment in Chile here.
- Find retired much astir the UN Development Coordination Office here.
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