Africa-Press – Lesotho. If 2020 & 2021 will be remembered for the Covid-19 pandemic, it is the Ukraine war that will probably define 2022 the most. If there is one thing in common between these two destructive events, it is that no early closure is in sight for either of them.
As regards Covid-19, almost three years since the causative coronavirus surfaced there is no definitive conclusion about its origins, but what is now clear is that it is here to stay: it has become endemic.
Apparently – so the experts opined when the Russians began to get mired into the Ukrainian soil within a couple of months after the conflict began – the latter had thought that their ‘special military operation’ would be a cuit-vidé — affair: a swift massive and paralyzing attack and an equally prompt withdrawal.
It is now almost a year, and there is no end in sight. Ukraine is putting up a strong resistance even as the Russians seem to be weakening. Needless to say, there has been much destruction and hundreds of thousands of needless loss of human lives, both military and civilian on the two sides, with the accompanying social, economic and political impacts that are aggravating lives and livelihoods globally.
Against this backdrop was held the UN COP27 conference on the climate change crisis COP27 at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Some extracts from the Statement by the Secretary-General Antony Gueterres at the conclusion of COP27 point to the harsh realities we face:
‘Climate chaos is a crisis of biblical proportions. The signs are everywhere. Instead of a burning bush, we face a burning planet.
From the beginning, this conference has been driven by two overriding themes: justice and ambition. Justice for those on the frontlines who did so little to cause the crisis.
Ambition to keep the 1.5-degree limit alive and pull humanity back from the climate cliff. This COP has taken an important step towards justice . . . I welcome the decision to establish a loss and damage fund and to operationalize it in the coming period.
Let’s be clear. Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce emissions now – and this is an issue this COP did not address.
COP27 concludes with much homework and little time. . . to end the suicidal war on nature that is fueling the climate crisis, driving species to extinction and destroying ecosystems. We can and must win this battle for our lives. win this battle for our lives’ – this is the crux of the issue: the survival of mankind.
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