SECURITY COUNCIL
- The Preamble of the Charter of the United Nations begins with the words “We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.”
- The Charter gives the UN Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
- VETO POWER The Security Council has become thoroughly dysfunctional in its peace mission due to the veto power of China, Russia, and the United States.
- WEAPONS SALES All Security Council permanent members, and other members, hypocritically sell weapons in the global weapons marketplace, destabilizing Earth.
CLIMATE CHARADES
- "Globally accepted targets" are disingenuous.
- There are targets, and then fossil-fuel-producing-or-dependent-countries torpedo those targets through edits.
- They take turns being saboteurs of the negotiations.
- This past year in Glasgow, it was India's turn.
- At the very last minute they insisted on changing one word in the agreement: "phasing out coal" had to be changed to "phasing down coal" because of India.
- They need to change the voting procedure at the climate conferences of the parties (COPs).
- Their voting procedure has become "consensus" but the consensus is incorrectly defined as unanimity.
- Consensus leaves room for those who disagree but agree to go along with the will of the majority, as well as those who disagree and feel they cannot accept that will, so back to the drawing board.
- Unanimity is 100% agreement across the board, even if it means sometimes ignoring the smaller countries (e.g., Bolivia) or bringing down the gavel before a country can speak up (e.g., Nicaragua).
- There are, it seems, no teeth in an international treaty or agreement.
WITHHOLDING DUES
- The Secretary-General may be fearful of calling out nations as bad actors, who then threaten to not pay their dues.
- Under the Reagan administration, the U.S. withdrew from UNESCO, and withheld its dues to encourage the UN to repeal Resolution 3379 (Zionism as Racism), which it did in 1991.
SECRETARY-GENERAL GUTERRES NEEDS TO:
- Show more initiative in bringing warring factions to a negotiating table to build the peace and security the U.N. is charged with protecting.
- Make bold moves and stand up to the big powers in the name of all humanity.
- Must fully exercise his diplomatic convening power to champion common security.
- Lead in resolving the overwhelming problems, the three existential threats to all the world:
- Ukraine war
- Global warming
- Modernization of nuclear weapons
It is immoral for oil & gas companies to be making record profits from the current energy crisis on the backs of the poorest, at a massive cost to the climate. I urge all governments to tax these excessive profits & use the funds to support the most vulnerable people.
Half of humanity is in the danger zone from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires. No nation is immune. Yet we continue to feed our fossil fuel addiction….What troubles me most is that, in facing this global crisis, we are failing to work together as a multilateral community. Nations continue to play the blame game instead of taking responsibility for our collective future. We cannot continue this way. We have a choice. Collective action or collective suicide. It is in our hands.
My message to graduates as they embark on their professional careers: Don’t work for climate-wreckers. Use your talents to drive us towards a renewable future. We all have a responsibility not to squander our skills, but to use them in a responsible and constructive way.
When we destroy forests, overfish or burn coal, we are increasing gross domestic product. It’s time to change an accounting system that counts the destruction of the planet as if it was the production of richness.
We still see funding for coal & fossil fuels from some of the biggest names in finance, hedge funds & private equity. Investing in fossil fuels is a dead end – economically & environmentally. No amount of greenwashing or spin can change that. Don’t work for climate-wreckers.
It’s time for leaders — public and private alike — to stop talking about renewable energy as a distant project of the future. Without renewables, there can be no future. We don’t have a moment to lose.
We have no more time for empty promises. I call on all investors to align their entire lending portfolio with the #ParisAgreement at the latest by 2024, ending all high-emissions finance. Every country, city, citizen, financial institution and company has a role to play.
Child labour has no place in today's world. Sadly, it remains a reality for 160 million children. Sunday's #NoChildLabour Day is a reminder that we must redouble efforts to end this harmful practice & protect children from exploitation. https://un.org/en/observances/world-day-against-child-labour
From raw materials to technology, subsidies, investments, and policies, we have the tools to jump-start the renewable energy transition. The time to use them is now. The only sustainable future is a renewable one. https://un.org/en/climatechange/raising-ambition/renewable-energy
The war in Ukraine is inflaming a three-dimensional global crisis – food, energy and finance – that is pummeling the most vulnerable people, countries and economies. The sooner this war ends, the better – for the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and the world.
Every fraction of a degree of global warming matters. Every day matters. Every #ClimateAction matters.
Global well-being is in jeopardy in large part because we have not kept our promises on the environment. At #Stockholm50, I urge countries to embrace the human right to a clean, healthy environment for everyone, everywhere.
I grew up with a special relationship with the sea, and it pains me how ocean resources & biodiversity are being destroyed by human activities. On #WorldOceansDay, let's commit to working together with nature and ensuring a healthy & productive ocean for future generations.
As voters and consumers we must make our actions count: From the policies we champion, to the food we eat, to the transport we choose, to the companies we support. We can all make environmentally friendly choices that will add up to the change we need. #WorldEnvironmentDay
We are asking too much of our planet to maintain our unsustainable ways of life. Earth’s natural systems cannot keep up with our demands. The only way forward is to work with nature, not against it.
This year’s International Day of Peace comes at a crisis point for humanity.
- COVID-19 has turned our world upside-down.
- Conflicts are spinning out of control.
- The climate emergency is worsening.
- Inequality and poverty are deepening.
- And mistrust and division are driving people apart at a time when solidarity and collaboration are needed more than ever.
As a human family, we face a stark choice — Peace or perpetual peril. We must choose peace. That is why I call for a 24-hour ceasefire today. And by working in solidarity for a lasting, sustainable peace every day, we can tackle the issues facing us.
- We need peace to urgently deliver lifesaving vaccines and treatment for COVID-19.
- We need peace to recover from the pandemic and re-build shattered systems and shattered lives.
- We need peace to level the playing field and reduce inequalities.
- We need peace to renew trust in one another — and faith in facts and science.
- And we need to make peace with nature — to heal our planet, build a green economy, and achieve our net-zero targets.
Peace is not a naïve dream. It’s a light in the darkness. Guiding us to the only pathway to a better future for humanity.
If we act together, the renewable energy transformation can be the peace project of the 21st century. Every country, city and citizen, every financial institution, company and civil society organization has a role to play. The only sustainable future is a renewable one.
The disregard for children’s rights at times of conflict is shocking and heartbreaking. We must do everything we can to protect children from the chaos and madness of wars that have nothing to do with them. Children are #NotATarget.
Humanitarians put their lives on the line every day to protect the life & dignity of people caught in armed conflict. They have no political agenda. They deserve our deepest gratitude, admiration & appreciation. They are #NotATarget.
Terrorism is not only an attack on innocent people. It's an all-out assault on our values — justice, equality & the inherent rights & dignity of every person. It is an affront to humanity. Countering & defeating terrorism depends on collaboration. https://un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2022-06-08/secretary-generals-remarks-the-eighth-meeting-of-the-un-global-counter-terrorism-coordination-compact