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“There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all,” the report underlines. “Rapid and far-reaching transitions across all sectors and systems are necessary.”
The report also adds that our choices and actions—or inaction—in the next few years “will have impacts now and for thousands of years.”
Pillay underscored that the climate emergency demands integrated and coordinated efforts. “The report clearly shows that climate change is not merely an environmental phenomenon but one with profound implications on economies, societies, and the health and livelihoods of people especially those living in poverty,” he said. “This means that our response to the climate emergency must take an integrated and coordinated approach, understanding that mitigation and adaptation efforts are two sides of the same coin, comprehending the necessity of institutional, economic, and social transformation, and recognizing the need for global collaboration to unite our efforts.”
A second message Pillay shared is that equity is the path to sustainability. “The report reveals that the way forward is a climate-resilient development that integrates actions to curb emissions with measures to adapt to climate change in ways that enhance people’s health and livelihoods while at the same time reducing hunger, poverty, and inequality and delivering clean energy, water, and air for all,” he said, adding a third point: “Climate solutions exist; political commitment is needed.”
The report emphasizes that the Paris goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees celsius is still within reach if emissions are halved within the next seven years. “It brings together a range of tried and tested policy options to help achieve deep cuts in emissions and build climate resilient communities,” noted Pillay. “Solutions are available. What is missing is political will.”
But political will is not enough, he concluded. “The pursuit of short-term financial gains through aggressive land use and wanton resource extraction has wrought immeasurable costs to life and all creation and will impose a heavy burden on our children for millennia, imperiling their very future,” he said. “As Christians we believe that life-in-creation is a sacred gift from God.”
