PETALING JAYA – The Regent of Pahang, in conjunction with Earth Day 2022 (Friday, April 22nd), has asked the younger generation to join him in promoting environmental preservation.
Tengku Mahkota Tengku Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Alm Shah Al-Mustafa Shah said that it was vital to preserve the balance in nature to ensure a better world for all.
Antonio Guterres (UN Secretary-General), recently said that the wellbeing of the planet depends on the success of young people.
This is a huge responsibility that we cannot avoid.
He stated that it is crucial to put the planet on the right track to a better future. This was stated in a statement released Thursday (April 21, 21).
He said that governments, businesses, financial institutions and citizens should all work together to reverse climate change and the loss of nature.
Tengku hassanal stated that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest assessment of the year confirmed that climate change is already causing more frequent, more severe storms.
The greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and current commitments to climate change are far below what is needed to limit warming at 1.5 above preindustrial levels. This is the threshold scientists consider necessary to avoid more catastrophic consequences.
He stated that it is particularly concerning that the richest countries in the world are responsible for far more emissions than those in developing countries, which suffer the most severe impacts.
Tengku Hassanal shared his experience of witnessing the devastating effects of December’s floods on Pahang. He said that both immediate action at all levels and long-term strategic planning were needed.
At least 125,000 people were evacuated and 54 lives were lost in one the most severe natural disasters to hit the country in recent years. There were RM20bil in economic loss, as well as RM1.4bil in infrastructure damage.
Everyone must seriously consider long-term strategic planning and immediate action when it comes to biodiversity loss, climate changes, and land degrading. No one is an observer. Each one of you has a responsibility.
He stated that we need a paradigm shift in our thinking, to make care for the natural world a core value of all our daily actions.
Tengku hassanal said that the Covid-19 viral infection, which was transmitted from wild species to humans, is a stark reminder on the consequences of disturbing the balance of nature.
He stated that the world needed a significant transformational shift, but human activities continue their destruction of the web of life upon which we all depend.
According to a UN assessment in 2019, 60% of nature’s ecosystem services have been degraded, and at an increasing pace. The UN also stated that 1 million species of fauna and flora are at risk of extinction by 2050.
My generation was not yet born when the legally binding UN Convention on Biological Diversity was signed by almost all member states at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
“Its main goals are conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and access to and benefit sharing of genetic resources.
Decadal frameworks of action and targets to address biodiversity losses have been tried since then, most recently the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (2011)-2020.
He shared, “Alas! While some countries were able to meet one or more targets, the global goal of meeting all 20 was not achieved by the 2020 deadline.”
He said that the international community is currently considering a second set of decadal targets in the UN Global Biodiversity Framework. The draft contains an ambitious plan of broad-based actions to transform society’s relationship with nature.
He said that the global negotiation of these goals and targets will resume at Nairobi in June with plans for their final adoption by Kunming, China, in late summer.
