Editorial Ta Nea: A duty towards our children

The target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement (photo) was clear – to limit global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, because otherwise extreme weather conditions (flooding, heatwaves, and drought) will multiply and become more intense, leading in turn to the massive movement of climate refugees and a major increase in the number of loci of instability worldwide.

The recent report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change notes that humanity has already increased the temperature of the planet by 1.1 °C, and that by 2040 that will rise to over 1.5 °C.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that humanity is already in a state of emergency.

With that backdrop, the Conference of Parties (COP 26) next Sunday in Glasgow is a last chance to save whatever can be salvaged.

The leaders of some of the major polluting countries, namely Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, will not attend. That, however, should not impede any country from making specific, strict commitments to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Our future will either be green or there will be no future.

In recognition of the enormous importance of the Glasgow conference, Ta Nea is today launching a series of articles, interventions, and interviews that will highlight the problem and propose solutions.

It is our duty towards our children.