CNA - We did not need COVID-19 as a wake-up call, climate challenges were there for years, expert tells CNA

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CNA - We did not need COVID-19 as a wake-up call, climate challenges were there for years, expert tells CNA

CNA - Kyriaki Christodoulou - Nicosia
While the current COVID-19 crisis shows us how vulnerable we are, as a globally connected society, the recognition that we need to stabilize our climate and protect our biodiversity has been there for years and has not changed, Wolfgang Cramer, Scientific Co-Director at IMBE, Mediterranean Institute of Marine and Terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecology, has told the Cyprus News Agency.

In an interview with the Agency on the even greater and more pressing challenges the world is now faced with because of the pandemic, Cramer was asked about the skeptics who doubt the scientists and their findings.

“In fact, "skepticism" is part of the scientific method - we must always question our findings to advance for better understanding, and this is what we do. The people your question refers to are better called "denialists": they know the truth; they are also happy to use scientists` results when this suits their personal goals. But when it comes to the need of decisive action to protect the environment, they simply deny the facts. We expected this to happen again when the COVID-19 crisis began, but the bluntness and arrogance by which even the highest-level scientific advisors are pushed away by some politicians has shocked me,” he pointed out.

He added that the Paris Agreement, for example, was based on scientific findings and that simply walking away from the agreement, does not solve the environmental crisis.

Cramer told the CNA that as a scientist, he cannot find anything more persuasive than putting the facts on the table, through UN-overseen bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). “As a citizen, I request that leaders and also the general public use this information - hopefully helped by journalists like yourself,” he said.

He noted that the United Nations have identified the Sustainable Development Goals as a set of targets that clearly identify that the basic needs of all people need to be fulfilled in a reliable way.

“It is yet too early to say how the struggle against COVID-19 has been hampered by poor basic living conditions - but this is similar to climate change and the biodiversity crisis: we simply did not need the COVID-19 crisis as a wake-up call. The needs for a transition of our society to one that is based on good life with fulfilment of all basic needs, rather than on high consumption of short-lived products, are unchanged,”, he underlined.

IMBE Scientific co-director was invited to comment on the situation in the Mediterranean, the need to find synergies and common strategies but also the fact that some countries in the region are members of the EU and thus abide by different rules, guidelines and laws, some are extremely poor or torn by wars.

He recognized that political instability and human suffering indeed make it more difficult to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt to climate change and to conserve biodiversity.

“But I am optimistic that all efforts to better cooperate, and to support lower-income nations in their sustainability transition will eventually also stabilize society and reduce conflict,” he told the Agency.

Notably, he added, in the renewable energy sector, there are plenty of opportunities for Southern countries to develop their economy , if stable cooperation can be assured. According to Cramer, there are encouraging signs in this direction, supported by political bodies such as the Union for the Mediterranean.

“But no government has time to lose in this context. There is no justification, for example, for investments in the wrong direction, such as for oil and gas exploration - these will cause huge damage to the climate and ultimately to people in the Mediterranean as well,” he added.

Cramer was also asked about the significant changes in our daily routines in terms of transportation, because of the pandemic.

He said that it is truly fascinating to see that many major cities worldwide suddenly recognize that more space for bicycles and pedestrians can be created "on the fly", that this allows many people to move around more easily and that air quality takes a drastic leap to the better.

“There are already indications from some cities that the death toll from air pollution more than balances the lives lost due to the pandemic. In other words: car traffic can be easily reduced in many cities, and now the investment in reliable public transportation must follow. A large part of the growing Mediterranean population will live in cities that are yet to be built. Yet is extraordinarily naive to believe that all these people will be in a position to use a car on a daily basis - not even an electric one, as there will simply not be the space for these, nor the material resources to buy and maintain them,” he told the CNA.

He said that a number of large cities around the world have already understood these simple facts and are rapidly transforming their transportation systems, pointing out that the current situation can serve as a nice demonstration case showing all city planners that everyone wins if that process is accelerated.

CNA/KCH/GV/2020
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

________________________________________

Cyprus News Agency, 21 Academias Avenue, 2107 Aglantzia, Nicosia
Tel. 22556000, Fax. 22556100, email:news@cna.org.cy, website: www.cna.org.cy

Agency : CNA
Date : 2020-05-23 09:02:43

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