In a stark warning, the United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Turk, cautioned on Monday that climate change poses a grave risk of delivering a “truly terrifying” future plagued by hunger and suffering. Turk criticized world leaders for their short-term thinking when addressing the climate crisis.
Speaking at a UN Human Rights Council debate focused on the right to food, Turk highlighted how extreme weather events are devastating crops, livestock, and ecosystems, leaving communities unable to rebuild and sustain themselves. He pointed out that over 828 million people experienced hunger in 2021, and climate change could potentially endanger an additional 80 million people by the mid-century.
“Our environment is burning. It’s melting. It’s flooding. It’s depleting. It’s drying. It’s dying,” Turk expressed, painting a bleak picture of a “dystopian future.” He emphasized that addressing climate change is not just an environmental concern but also a matter of human rights. He urged immediate action, emphasizing that there is still time to make a difference.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries committed to limiting global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an ambitious target of 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible. However, the global mean temperature in 2022 was already 1.15 degrees Celsius above the average recorded between 1850 and 1900.
Based on current policy trends, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that the planet could warm by 2.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Turk stressed the urgency of the situation, highlighting the need to prevent a future of hunger and suffering for future generations.
“We must not deliver this future of hunger and suffering to our children, and their children. And we don’t have to,” Turk stated. He emphasized that the current generation possesses the most powerful technological tools in history and has the capacity to enact meaningful change.
Turk criticized world leaders for their tendency to engage in performative gestures, promising action but ultimately getting caught up in short-term thinking.
