The general director of the international environmental organization “World Wide Fund for Nature” (WWF), Marco Lambertini, sees the current moment in the world as a “civilization in transition”, but warns that transition implies changing the way of life.
Despite the fact that greenhouse gas emissions, pollution or overfishing continue to increase and all the indicators on the health of the oceans go in the wrong direction, Marco Lambertini says that he still sees the current phase of the world as a phase of transition to something better.
Let’s be honest, it is not an easy transition, we have to change many things in the way we live, in our lifestyle, in the way we develop and in the way to guarantee equity in that development”, said the Director from WWF. General in an interview with Agência Lusa in Lisbon, where he participates in the UN Oceans Conference.
It is, he says, a profound transition, from an unsustainable economy, without concern for nature, to a sustainable economy. And it requires, in particular, a change in financial investments.
“There is a change in the sector from fossil fuels to renewable energies. It is the beginning, we must accelerate, it is still not enough to generate a change in relation to climate change, nor in relation to the oceans, nor to the forests”, he says, concluding that the world is moving in the right direction, although it is not fast enough and exemplifying what is happening in the energy sector, where in the last year 70% of the investment in new energy production was in renewable energies.
Acknowledging that the oceans have been forgotten on the global agenda, he recalls, however, that at the beginning of the millennium less than 1% of the oceans were protected, compared to almost 8% today and the 30% protection target and said that the message coming out of the Lisbon conference is that what has to be done is known and it has to be done quickly.
Still, Marco Lambertini is not considered optimistic. Because he sees the problems, he sees climate change as a threat to global society, but he also sees a basis for change, in which further investment is needed.
And he also sees the United Nations Conference on the Oceans, which runs until Friday, as an opportunity for leaders, governments, businesses and civil society to express the need to accelerate action to support the oceans.
We know that the ocean is in crisis, we have problems of overfishing, rising temperatures due to climate change, acidification problems, pollution problems in different forms, including plastic”, and the Lisbon conference, not being a meeting to take decisions, could lead to a global treaty on plastic pollution or advances such as the protection of 30% of the oceans, which will allow the recovery of fish populations.
“That is why this conference is very important, to send strong messages to other conferences that will be held this year, where decisions are expected.”
Marco Lambertini does not hide the urgency of these decisions. Because whether it is climate change, biodiversity loss or pollution, they are not only affecting the world’s biodiversity but are beginning to affect the stability of the planet, economies and people’s lives.
“Nature conservation affects our prosperity, our survival and our future. It is a new perception that emerges from this conference”, says the WWF official, adding that the sea, in addition to being beautiful and inspiring, is also a source of immense resources for humanity.
Because the $2.5 billion worth of goods and services the ocean produces are critical to the economy, he says, adding: “protecting the ocean is essential for our prosperity and our lives”how critical it is to change the way ocean resources are used and consumed, something that concerns governments but also businesses and consumers.
Small island states have already felt this urgency. In the interview with Lusa, Marco Lambertini prefers to call them “big ocean states” and recognizes that they are the first in the fight against climate change, because they are “in the front line” of the consequences, and they are the first to want sustainable fishing. , because they want to preserve what is, in fact, their only resource.
And regarding resources, the Director General of WWF also expressed concern about deep sea mining that some countries admit to doing. Peremptorily against, he asks what they will do about hitting fragile systems with thousands of underwater bulldozers.
That is why the WWF has been calling for a moratorium, until the full implications are understood. “We have to learn from other mistakes we made in the past, exploiting natural resources without understanding the consequences.”
And then, he says, that resource exploitation isn’t even necessary, because there’s a “huge opportunity” in recycling essential metals, while investing millions to potentially further affect the seas isn’t rational.
It is important, he reaffirms, that each part of society make the necessary transition, that renewable energies be promoted and that fossil fuel companies, which have received billions of dollars in incentives, be penalized.
But won’t the war in Ukraine delay this entire transition process? Marco Lambertini recognizes that war, unlike other circumstances, is more penalizing for the world economy, has an impact on energy and food security and that it endangers the sustainable development agenda.
“It will be a tragedy, a great tragedy, if the war in Ukraine pushes the world to abandon the sustainable development agenda,” he says.
Ângela Morgado, executive director of Associação Natureza Portugal (ANP/WWF), which represents WWF in the country, also speaks to Lusa about sustainable development, the “blue economy”, but warns that “the blue economy only exists if there is biodiversity” . restored” and that the Portuguese Government has to realize this.
And from the Oceans Conference I wanted to see a declaration that reflects the understanding that all of society should care about and conserve the oceans because everyone’s life depends on it.
Portugal must also “do everything” to make fishing increasingly sustainablecreating conservation and management plans for some species, namely sharks and rays.
Likewise, it must adhere to the moratorium on deep-sea mining, which on Tuesday already had the support of three countries, and it must also bet on the goal of 30% of marine protected areas by 2030, he said.
“Failure to achieve this objective in the sea would not create an image of a leading State in the issue of recognizing the sea as a fundamental axis of the economy, environment and even social”, concludes Ângela Morgado.
Source: Observadora