“From Islamabad, I make a global appeal: stop this madness. These are the words of Antonio Guterres, who is on a tour through Pakistan devastated by catastrophic floods. “Pakistan and other developing countries are paying a horrible price for the intransigence of the big emitters, who continue to bet on fossil fuels”, argued this Saturday the Secretary General of the United Nations in a tweet. “From Islamabad, I make a global appeal: stop this madness. Invest in renewable energy now. Put an end to the war against nature”, asserted the one who makes a visit through Pakistan devastated by catastrophic floods.
Nearly 1,400 people have died since June in these floods. Having increased in intensity due to global warming, these are caused by torrential monsoon rains and have covered a third of Pakistan – an area the size of the United Kingdom – destroying homes, businesses, roads, bridges and agricultural crops.
“It’s madness, it’s collective suicide”
Antonio Guterres hopes that his visit will encourage the international community to financially support the country, which estimates that it needs at least ten billion dollars to repair and rebuild damaged or destroyed infrastructure. A sum impossible to collect alone for Pakistan, because of its high debt.
On Friday, the Secretary General of the United Nations had already been indignant at the indifference of the world, in particular of the most industrialized countries, in the face of climate change. “It’s madness, it’s a collective suicide,” he noted.
Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions (for 3% of the world’s population), but it is in 8th position of the countries most threatened by extreme weather phenomena, according to a study by the Germanwatch NGO. This year, the country has already faced a heat wave that has sometimes exceeded 50°C, devastating forest fires and devastating floods caused by the rapid melting of glaciers.
Antonio Guterres is due to visit the millennial city of Mohenjo Daro on Saturday, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and threatened by the waves.