Greta Thunberg is absolutely spot on that we must address the coronavirus and the climate crisis simultaneously. We must. Greta is such a powerful voice of wisdom, truth, and courage and a true symbol for Earth Day and for what is so long overdue — holding with reverence and protection our Earth Mother and all of her inhabitants. It's both amazing and tragic that often it is the youth who are so much more informed and awake, so much more courageous, and so much more absolutely committed to the fight for environmental sanity, justice for all, and sustaining a habitable planet. I stand with you Greta and with all the young ones who are demanding that we adults do the right thing and fight for them and their futures!
We've already squandered decades on inaction, ignorance, and greed. Now we are utterly out of time to settle for and enable the toxic status quo and the deadly neoliberal capitalist system it supports. Dramatic systemic changes are needed NOW if there's to be any chance of sustaining a habitable planet for our children and grandchildren and all the children of all the species everywhere. We act now to save ourselves, or we will be faced with cascading nightmares that push us into civilization collapse and extinction.
We must listen to the young ones and others who KNOW. We must. Everything, absolutely everything, that we love and cherish is at stake. — Molly
U.N. Chief António Guterres declared the pandemic "an unprecedented wake-up call" and urged world leaders to pursue a "green recovery."
By
The 50th annual global Earth Day coming amid the coronavirus pandemic sparked fresh demands from Fridays for Future founder Greta Thunberg, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and others for the international community to simultaneously tackle the COVID-19 and climate crises.
"Today is Earth Day and that reminds us that the climate and environmental emergency is still ongoing and we need to tackle both the corona pandemic, this crisis, at the same time as we tackle climate and environmental emergency, because we need to be able to tackle two crises at once," said 17-year-old Thunberg.
She emphasized that while it is always "important" and "essential" to be guided by science, "during crises like this it is even more important that we listen to scientists, science, and to the experts. That goes for all crises, whether it's the corona crisis or whether it's the climate crisis."
Thunberg's comments came in a livestreamed conversation with Johan Rockström, a Swedish professor who is joint director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, hosted by the Nobel Prize Museum. The teen activist, also a Swede, has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Price.
Thunberg's youth-led climate action movement Fridays for Future marked Earth Day by releasing a short video entitled "Our House Is On Fire," evoking a speech the activist delievered at the World Economic Forum's annual summit in Davos, Switzerland in January 2018.
"We believe it's time people realize that climate change isn't going to happen, but that it's already happening," Fridays for Future U.S. spokesperson Joe Hobbs said in a statement. "We hope that by watching this video people will realize they need to take action now, instead of putting it off until later."
During a video address Wednesday, Guterres said: "On this International Mother Earth Day, all eyes are on the COVID-19 pandemic—the biggest test the world has faced since the Second World War. We must work together to save lives, ease suffering, and lessen the shattering economic and social consequences.
"But there is another deep emergency—the planet's unfolding environmental crisis," he added. "Biodiversity is in steep decline. Climate disruption is approaching a point of no return. We must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption."
Guterres declared that "the current crisis is an unprecedented wake-up call" and outlined six "climate-related actions to shape the recovery and the work ahead," urging world leaders to pursue a green recovery from the pandemic that ensures "a healthy and resilient future for people and planet alike."
Please continue this article here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/22/humanity-must-tackle-two-crises-once-says-greta-thunberg-climate-and-covid-19-50th
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