UN Secretary-General Calls for Shielding Mother Nature

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Wednesday, at the UN biodiversity conference in Montréal (Canada), that governments and the private sector must pool efforts and work jointly to effectively protect the environment.
He noted that “human activity is destroying once-thriving forests, jungles, farmland, oceans, rivers, seas, and lakes.”
Humanity is at war against nature. A war on ourselves, the UN chief warned.
He recalled that a million species are at risk of extinction, a fact that should prompt governments to develop ambitious action plans to protect nature and put the planet on a healing path.
He called for strict regulations and disclosure procedures to end greenwashing and hold the private sector responsible for it. “We need developed countries to provide meaningful financial support for the countries of the global south as custodians of the world’s natural wealth following centuries of exploitation and losses.”
Guterres also underscored the need to work side-by-side with indigenous peoples, local communities, and youth, whom he called “the most effective guardians of biodiversity”.