January 7, 2025 • 37 mins
For our planet, each year brings new climate records, and they’re not good ones.
“We now know that 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record. At the same time, we have accumulated more CO2 than ever in the history of human life on Earth,” says Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization.
On Inside Geneva this week, we look at the damage from the perspective of United Nations (UN) aid agencies.
“Climate change is making us sick, and it’s making us sick because it’s increasing the possibility of having more infectious diseases and waterborne diseases like cholera. It’s also sometimes destroying the capacity to produce food,” says Maria Neira, Climate Change Director at the World Health Organization.
We also hear how aid agencies are trying to reduce their own carbon footprints.
“Anyone who’s in the field at the moment shouldn’t be using their own agency vehicles. We should be ride-sharing. We’ve got 6,000 vehicles. Why aren’t they electric? We’ve got 6,000 generators. Why aren’t they all solar-powered?” says Andrew Harper, Climate Change Advisor to the UN Refugee Agency.
It’s part of a local Geneva initiative called 2050 Today to encourage the city’s UN agencies, diplomatic missions and private enterprises to tackle climate change.
“In my small mission, we know that our contribution may be minor in comparison, but we also understand the power of collective movements. By sharing the 2050 Today tools with our other embassies throughout the world, we aim to reduce our emissions by 45% from our 2022 levels,” says Matthew Wilson, the Ambassador of Barbados to the UN in Geneva.
Sometimes great things start local – join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to find out how.
Get in touch!
- Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch
- Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en
Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter.
For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/
Host: Imogen Foulkes
Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain
Distribution: Sara Pasino
Marketing: Xin Zhang
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
This is Inside Geneva .
I'm your host, Imogen Foulkes,and this is a production from
Swissinfo, the internationalpublic media company of
Switzerland.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
In today's programme… .
We now know that 2024 is ontrack to be the warmest year on
record.
At the same time, we haveaccumulated CO2 more than ever
in the history of human life onEarth.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Climate change is making us sick, and it's making
us sick because it's increasingthe possibility of having more
infectious diseases.
Speaker 5 (00:45):
waterborne diseases like cholera is destroying
sometimes the capacity ofproducing food, climate change,
climate chaos, we're saying, isexacerbating human rights
challenges across the boardDisplacement, conflicts,
inequalities and injustice.
Those who are impacted arethose who are the least
responsible for what is going on.
Speaker 6 (01:06):
Anyone who's in the field at the moment.
They shouldn't be using theirown agency vehicles.
We should be having ridesharing.
We've got 6,000 vehicles.
Why aren't they electric?
We've got 6,000 generators.
Why aren't they all basicallybeing solar powered, Howard.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Hello and welcome again to Inside Geneva.
I'm Imogen Fowkes and intoday's programme the very first
of 2025, we're going to try toprovide a bit of inspiration,
motivation and even perhapsoptimism.
Many of us feel helpless in theface of global challenges.
Many of us feel helpless in theface of global challenges.
(01:44):
Many of us are frustrated whenour governments promise big and
deliver very, very small.
A recent example was the latestclimate change conference,
cop29, held in Baku inAzerbaijan.
We now know that 2024 is set tobe the hottest year on record.
(02:04):
We know our chance of stayingwithin the Paris-agreed limit of
a 1.5 degree centigradetemperature rise looks more and
more doubtful and we've seenmore and more extreme weather
events linked to global warming.
But at these big climatesummits, our governments just
(02:27):
don't seem to take it thatseriously.
Even small decisions arehaggled over for days.
Meanwhile, our planet keeps onheating up For the first time
ever global warming has exceeded1.5 degrees Celsius for an
entire year.
Speaker 9 (02:40):
Representatives of dozens of the world's least
developed countries stormed outof a key meeting.
Speaker 10 (02:47):
We just walked out.
We came here to this COP for afair deal.
We feel that we haven't beenheard.
Speaker 9 (02:53):
This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity
of the challenge we all face.
Climate scientists are prettymuch unanimous about the record
temperatures and wildfires thatare sweeping across Europe.
These extreme conditions are adirect consequence of climate
change and will only occur morefrequently and with greater
intensity if nothing is done tostop it.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So what can we ordinary citizens do?
In fact, we may not be ashelpless as we think, and an
organization right here inGeneva proves that.
Its name is Geneva 2050 Today,and its aim is to encourage all
the institutions in town, fromthe private sector to
(03:35):
non-governmental organisations,to diplomatic missions, to the
big UN aid agencies, to settargets which really will comply
with the Paris Agreement.
And not only set the targets,but stick to them.
Last month, geneva 2050 Todayheld a high-level meeting at the
headquarters of the WorldMeteorological Organization to
(03:59):
adopt a climate action plan,hear from organisations who are
signing up and then debate withsome of the biggest humanitarian
agencies the impact of climatechange on health, human rights
and refugees.
Here at Inside Geneva, we got aringside seat at that event,
and we're going to bring you aflavour of that today, starting
(04:22):
with the Executive Director ofGeneva 2050 Today, jean-pierre
Raymond, who reminded us howurgent the situation is.
Speaker 11 (04:31):
Greenhouse gas emissions linked to human
activities have arisen by afurther 1.3% between 2022 and
2023.
The world is heading to atemperature rise with
devastating consequences forpopulation, for the planet and
(04:52):
for economies.
Redactions of 42% are needed by2030 to avoid exceeding
temperatures of 1.5 degrees, areduction objective that will
grow with each year of inaction.
We, and I am very proud to saywe, international Geneva, are
(05:13):
turning the tide tonight.
Our determination to act is theoutcome of a joint and
collective effort by thecreation of 2050 Today, the
Geneva Climate Action Forum, topromote the decarbonisation of
this multilateral ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And in the spirit of multilateralism, multiple
ambassadors were taking part andpledging their support to
Geneva 2050.
Today, here's Matthew Wilson,ambassador of Barbados to the UN
in Geneva.
Speaker 8 (05:46):
In a perfect world, we may actually not have needed
a 2050 Today.
Countries, organisations,entities and individuals would
automatically be aware of theircarbon footprint, already have
tailored plans to cut theiremissions and to reduce food
waste, would be using socialmedia to share best practices
(06:06):
and scalable and replicablesolutions.
But we are an imperfect world.
The fact that we are in aclimate crisis tells us that.
The fact that 2024 is thehottest year on record tells us
that the fact that we now speakof when we will be above 1.5
degrees, and not if.
It is an imperfect world and weare imperfect organisations.
(06:30):
This is why we need 2050 today.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
So how does 2050 today work exactly?
Switzerland's ambassador, jörgLauber, admitted that COP29 had
been less than inspiring, butargued that starting local could
have a ripple effect.
Speaker 10 (06:51):
As key players within international Geneva, we
too can lead by example and takemeaningful action.
Switzerland has set ambitiousgoals reducing emissions by half
by 2030 and achieving carbonneutrality by 2050.
Locally, the canton and city ofGeneva aim even higher,
(07:13):
targeting a 60% reduction inemissions by 2030 and achieving
a net zero balance by 2050.
Achieving these ambitiousobjectives requires harnessing
technological innovation andfostering collaboration across
sectors.
The essence of 2050's todaymission lies in encouraging and
(07:36):
facilitating action.
This initiative serves as abridge, connecting local
projects with broader globalobjectives, creating platforms
for dialogue and fosteringsynergies in ecological
innovation.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
One of the main aims of 2050 Today is to mobilise as
many Geneva-based organisationsas possible and to encourage a
multifaceted approach totackling climate change.
Cecilia Roselli of theNorwegian Refugee Council told
us how her organisation joined2050 Today at the start and then
(08:11):
brought in other Geneva-basedNGOs.
Speaker 7 (08:14):
It's really a pleasure to see how we can
mobilise additional agencies andactors to become more
responsible in the use ofresources, to implement
sustainable procurement byreducing general waste, by
making recycling easier for ourstaff and supporting sustainable
(08:34):
transportation.
We all come to work by bike.
I really think it's anachievement for the 150
colleagues that are joining thehumanitarian hub, but I think
more importantly, we strive tominimise our environmental
footprint in our operations.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Meanwhile, a UN agency was signing up to the
2050 Today Charter for the firsttime.
Andrew Steens, AssistantDirector of the World
Intellectual PropertyOrganisation, told us why.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
As the UN Agency for Innovation and Creativity, we at
WIPO see a central role for thepower of intellectual property
in improving environmentaloutcomes.
And, closer to home, we arecommitted to taking divisive
action in the areas of the 2050Today Charter.
For example, we are reducingour energy consumption year on
year.
We're connected to theincredible Geneva Lake Water
Network, calling.
(09:24):
Our buildings, the park and therooftops on our campus are
designed to support localbiodiversity and to reduce the
costs and needs for watering.
Like others, we're taking awhole of life cycle approach to
procurement, including for ourIT equipment, thinking about how
we dispose of any item at themoment we buy it, not when we
remove it.
But there's a lot more we cando and I'm confident that the
(09:47):
Charterwich signing today willdrive much more further action
at WIPO, in partnership with allof you, in partnership with
International Geneva.
This initiative sends thestrongest signal of our
collective commitment toremaining within our planetary
boundaries and to turning thetide.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Listening to these Geneva organisations, big and
small, and diplomatsrepresenting countries, big and
small, it begins to become clearhow 2050, today's ambitions can
be achieved.
Here's Ambassador Wilson again.
Speaker 8 (10:17):
In my small mission.
We know that our contributionmay be minor in comparison, but
we also understand the power ofcollective movements.
By sharing the 2050 Today toolswith our other embassies
throughout the world, we aresupporting as many actors as
possible to step in and to stepup.
We aim to reduce our emissionsby 45% from our 2022 levels and
(10:41):
to continue to look closely atactions around food waste and
mobility.
Already, we've been retrofittedwith modern energy saving
lighting solutions.
We're working with our reggieto explore solar power.
I can't promise you that you'llever see me riding a bike on
the streets of Geneva, like someof our European ambassadors,
but you'll see me more on busesand trams.
(11:02):
One of the most importantthings that this process has
done for my small mission is tomake us think.
Think of the impact of ourpersonal actions, remind
ourselves that we have a choiceto harm or help our country and
vulnerable populations by makingdecisions that, cumulatively,
will have an impact.
(11:23):
Barbados is proud to be part ofthis quiet revolution of 2050
today.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
So, as I promised at the start, some motivational
content for you on this first ofthe year edition of Inside
Geneva.
But of course, we shouldn'tunderestimate the serious
challenges of climate change andthe harm it is already doing.
So, after hearing from thevarious organisations that are
supporting Geneva 2050 today, wemoved on to a debate with
(11:57):
representatives from key UNorganisations.
We had Celeste Saulo, secretaryGeneral of the World
Meteorological Organisation,nada al-Nasheef, un Deputy High
Commissioner for Human Rights,marina Naira, director of
Environment and Climate Changeat the World Health Organisation
, and Andrew Harper, specialAdvisor on Climate Action at the
(12:20):
UN Refugee Agency.
Advisor on Climate Action atthe UN Refugee Agency.
Here is a flavour of that debateand asking the questions.
(12:41):
Well, you may recognise thatvoice.
Good evening, it's great to seeso many people here and it's
also great, given the reallychallenging world we live in, to
actually take part in a debatewhere there's kind of some
cooperation and optimism.
But you see our panel here tosober you up.
We're going to hear from key UNagencies who are seeing the
(13:03):
effects of climate changefirsthand on the very people
they are trying to serve.
I would like to give the floorfirst to you, celeste Salo of
the WMO.
We would like to hear from youragency's point of view what you
see are the really key strikingchallenges right now.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Thank you very much, and thank you for this question
and the opportunity to sharewith you.
Starting from the very basicthing that is, wmo provides the
science for you to know whereyou are and where we are going
together.
Thanks to the WMO, we now knowthat 2024 is on track to be the
(13:46):
warmest year on record.
At the same time, thanks to WMO, you also know that CO2, carbon
dioxide, is increasing withrespect to pre-industrial times
on around 51%.
So we have accumulated CO2 morethan ever in the history of
(14:09):
human life on Earth and we arecontinuing in that direction.
So we are going in the wrongdirections.
That's why we are concerned.
So you mentioned why we areconcerned.
So this is because of theinformation we bring to this
table.
We know that all the indicatorsfrom ocean, sea level rise,
(14:31):
temperatures, greenhouse gases,everything is going in the wrong
direction.
So that's why there are twomain things we are all speaking
about adaptation and mitigation.
Both are and we can contributein both directions.
Mitigation actions of course, wehave been addressing this a
(14:53):
little bit from the point ofview of the World Meteorological
Organization.
What we can provide is atangible, robust, scientific
information for you to knowwhere we are, in terms of
mitigation, to make sure thatall the policies in place are
going, or not, in the rightdirection.
So that is our greenhouse gasinitiative.
(15:16):
There are many initiativesassociated with this to
understand better the fluxes ofgreenhouse gases and then, in
terms of adaptation, what we canprovide.
Okay, early warning systems areour priority.
Why?
Because they save lives.
Because, thanks to a betterforecast, thanks to a better
(15:37):
warning, we can protect people,and we have many, many examples
of how many lives we have savedthanks to early warnings.
But the problem is that we livein a very unequal world where
early warnings are not foreveryone, and that's why we are
also concerned and we work hardto try to really diminish this
(16:01):
gap between those that are moredeveloped and those that are
less developed, Because, in theend, those that are less
developed are paying the highestprice for what is happening
today.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Thank you very much.
Well, you heard it there.
We live in a very unequal worldand I expect our other three
panellists are going to remindus of that.
We have at the end of the panelhere Maria Neira of the World
Health Organisation.
Maria, we've heard a lot aboutclimate change and health.
Perhaps you could outline forus what you're actually seeing,
(16:33):
what concerns you most?
Speaker 4 (16:35):
Thank you, Imogen, and thank you all for attending
to this call.
Thank you, WMO, for inviting us, for hosting us, and really a
pleasure to discuss about that.
Many of us we were in Baku afew days ago attending this
COP29, where definitely thelevel of ambition and the speed
at which the decisions weretaken is not responding to the
(16:57):
magnitude of the problem we arefacing, particularly for
somebody like me who works inpublic health and we are used
that when we have an issue, weneed to respond as soon as
possible, as quickly as possible.
Climate change is making ussick.
If I can summarize it in oneword, it's making us sick, and
it's making us sick because it'sincreasing the possibility of
(17:21):
having more infectious diseaseswaterborne diseases like cholera
, obviously vector-bornediseases like dengue or malaria
or other diseases transmitted byvectors is destroying sometimes
the capacity of producing food,destroying the agricultural
capacity, and therefore we willhave massive nutritional
(17:43):
problems.
The same causes of climatechange are contributing as well
to air pollution and thereforewe have 7 million premature
deaths every year due to the airpollution, the bad air that we
are breathing.
Climate change is causing thismassive displacement and, of
course, people lose thiscapacity to receive good health
(18:05):
services, Mental health.
We are having more and moreevidence every day about the
impact of climate change onmental health and, of course, we
have all the issues related toheat waves and the extreme
weather events that are having adirect impact on the health of
our people.
And for all of that, at Baku,we're presenting what we call
(18:28):
our report, which is health isthe argument for climate action.
We are convinced that healthcan be not only the one that
will motivate us to respond tothis massive crisis, but as well
the one that will motivate usin a very positive way, Because,
if we implemented the ParisAgreement, in fact this can be
(18:49):
the most powerful public healthtreaty ever, because all the
recommendations under the ParisTreaty are nothing else than
public health recommendations.
That's why we are so happy tohave this very strong
collaboration with WMO onjoining forces on the
preparedness, on collectingmeteorological data, not only on
(19:10):
extreme weather events, on airpollution as well, which is very
, very positive.
I can keep on the positive partlater on, if you want.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Nada Al-Nasheef, deputy High Commissioner for
Human Rights.
Maria there said climate changeis making us sick.
Now, health is supposed to be ahuman right.
I imagine you are seeing theeffects on people's living
standards and their fundamentalrights.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
Absolutely, with many thanks to everyone for coming
together.
We see that climate changeclimate chaos, we're saying is
exacerbating human rightschallenges across the board.
What we already face in termsof displacement, conflicts,
inequalities and injustice, thisidea of irreversible loss and
damage.
There is nothing that we can doin many areas, particularly
(19:57):
because those who are impactedare those who are the least
responsible for what is going on.
The disproportionate effect onpeople is those in vulnerable
situations, of course, which isa very big concern marginalized
communities I mean indigenouspeople, people on the move,
women and girls, people withdisabilities, older persons,
children, young people, and thelist goes on particularly the
(20:20):
link to conflict.
All of this drives furtherinequalities.
It exacerbates risks directlyindirectly affecting the
enjoyment of a wide range ofhuman rights.
So the impact on from we heardalready of course, health, but
also life in general housing,water, food, all of the rights
(20:41):
that we believe are intrinsicand the concern, really more
than that, is that the situationis only expected to get worse,
and I think this is the prismthat the response to the human
rights impacts has been whollyinadequate, as we've heard so
far, and I think we are riskinggoing into tipping points from
which we will never recover.
(21:02):
As far as the resources areconcerned, we are dealing with a
tension deficit, but with theproliferation of humanitarian
crisis, I think we are seeingcompounded inequalities, and the
world is still spending a lotmore to subsidize fossil fuels
than to support climate action.
We've already heard about thelack of ambition and I think,
(21:25):
from this vantage point, we'revery clear that climate
solutions have to be inclusive.
They have to be genderresponsive for them to really
work.
They have to be youth driven.
We have to amplify themarginalized voices in this
space, and these constituencieshave to meaningfully participate
in order to begin to craft.
(21:46):
If we have an opportunity, inthis little nexus that we're
talking about, to be able tolook at climate change and human
rights coming together in amore positive, healthy dynamic,
we hope UN refugees.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
The last time we talked, I was actually
interviewing you specificallyabout displacement and climate
change.
I think you have some fairlyalarming statistics around that
to share with us.
Speaker 6 (22:16):
I do, but I'm not too sure how useful that is,
because I think we already knowit.
I can say that there's 60,000people being sorry, 60,000
displacements taking place perday.
I can say there's 123 millionpeople displaced by conflict at
the moment.
But what we need to be doing islooking beyond the statistics
and say these are individualsand what is the themes?
(22:37):
The themes are that conflictsare not being resolved, the
international community aretaking steps back in terms of
trying to address the underlyingroot causes for those conflicts
and, at the same time, you'vegot climate change but also
other mega trends exacerbatingthose grievances and so, unless
we do more in terms to lookingat these root causes, you're not
(23:01):
going to resolve them.
We're going to be in much moreof a serious situation.
Going to resolve them.
We're going to be in much moreof a serious situation.
But what I will do is sort offocus a little bit more on the
positive and saying that thereare options in terms of getting
money out there, Like what wecan see in the international
community is there is money butthere's a lack of prioritisation
in terms of people.
Like whether you look at theamount of money being invested
(23:22):
in AI and we're talking hundredsof billions of dollars per year
, the amount of money whichflows through Geneva in terms of
trading, what's being broughtforward in terms of
petrochemical profits, but we'relosing in terms of the human
dimension.
So, again, we don't have thetime to go through it, but at
another point, we can.
On the positive side, what Iwill say is that we can all make
(23:46):
a difference, and that'ssupposed to be why we're here.
So we provide unfortunately, wehave to provide millions of
blankets and tents per year, sowe have, for instance, reduced
the amount of new plastics.
So all of these have been usingrecycled materials.
This has brought about areduction of some 20,000 tonnes
of CO2 emissions.
(24:07):
We've got 590 offices around theworld.
They're all trying to introducenew mechanisms.
Anyone who's in the field atthe moment.
They shouldn't be using theirown agency vehicles.
We should be having ridesharing.
We've got 6,000 vehicles.
Why aren't they electric?
We've got 6,000 generators.
Why aren't they all basicallybeing solar powered?
And a lot of it has to do withupfront money.
(24:30):
And so what I would like to askand I'll be very upfront here
there's a lot of things whichyou can achieve in Geneva, and
this is great, but Geneva is notthe field, and where I come
from, I've got an objective, notany objective.
I've got a responsibility tohelp our officers, our teams, in
Chad, in Mozambique, in Sudan,in Iraq, Colombia, and so what
(24:55):
we need to do as the next stepfor 2050 is not just look at
Geneva, but look at how we canensure that the good practices,
the technical expertise, thedrive, the ambition doesn't stay
in Geneva, but gets to theselocations where people need it.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Thank you, Thank you very much.
It's very interesting theexamples you gave there of what
a UN agency is also doing toreduce its own carbon footprint.
I do remember when AntonioGuterres first became secretary
general, he wanted to makeclimate change the absolute
centrepiece of his time inoffice.
Unfortunately, the world hasshifted on its axis somewhat.
(25:32):
We have, as you've all referredto, escalating conflicts.
I'm wondering how well you allare finding it to work together
on this issue, and maybe alsohow attentive member states are,
since their focus is Ukraine,middle East, at the moment.
(25:52):
Who wants to address that first?
Speaker 5 (25:55):
Just to say, because I have a list of things that may
sound terribly bureaucratic,but they're all important in the
sense of bringing us together,as you've just heard.
So we are.
You know, there is a UNEnvironment Management Group,
there is a coordinationmechanism, there's an issue
management group.
We're all sitting on thesethings.
We are working with UNEP, withUNDP, on a lot of these issues
(26:17):
in sustainability terms.
The Secretary General has aninitiative on the critical
energy transition, minerals,which, again, if you're not
involved, but but these are verytangible policy platforms, as
well as, I think, places likethe greening the blue initiative
, which are trying to help usstandardize our work, move
(26:38):
together to reduce environmentalfootprint, at the same time
making sure that we are aligningwith global sustainability
goals.
So I think all of that we havea UN sustainability strategy,
one of many that we're allworking to.
So I think all of this istrying to make sure that we can
advance environmental and socialtargets within the UN system In
(27:01):
some places, with HCR betweenus and refugees, a platform on
disaster displacement, themigration network, of course,
and with WHO.
Many we've heard already aboutearly warning.
I think this is a very bigimperative for all of us.
So there are a lot ofinitiatives to try to make sure
that we are in addition to, ofcourse, common premises and
(27:22):
common procurement guidelines inthe field that are trying to
help us make sure.
I must say that it's a littlebit.
The headwinds are very strongthese days.
There is an anti-rights agenda,which I think we have to be
very clear about, whichmitigates, I think, the space
that we have to be very clearabout, which mitigates, I think,
the space that we have forthese conversations, but also
(27:43):
some of the more affirmativeaction, because, as I said,
there are only so manysoundbites available in any one
newscast and certainly the waythat we cover the news and we
deal with it and, moreimportantly, this analysis of
root causes is not happening ascomprehensively as it should.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Celeste, I think you wanted to come in as well.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Maybe I would like to add certainly.
Yes, the UN Secretary Generalhas a strong position in terms
of climate action.
I would say that, intranslating climate action, the
early warnings for allinitiative is a concrete call to
countries and to the UNagencies, not only the three of
us that are more engaged in eachof the pillars, but all of us,
(28:26):
all of the UN system is reallyresponding to this call and I
would say that it is becoming abrand.
So many countries are alsotaking into consideration that
working on early system helpsthem, and this is, I would say,
a result of multilateralism thatI would like to highlight here
in this context in particular,and also a big effort of the UN
(28:50):
system to work together,understanding that, of course,
climate is very transversal, soit's everywhere.
Of course climate is verytransversal, so it's everywhere,
but the risk that you havesomething everywhere, it may be
nowhere at the same time.
So be attentive and work withus along these lines.
Thank you very much.
Final words.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I think to Andrew and Maria.
Speaker 6 (29:14):
I think it's important that we obviously work
close within the UN, but Idon't think that's the key
element.
I think it's important that weobviously work closely within
the UN, but I don't think that'sthe key element.
I think it's more about workingwith the populations that are
being impacted and finding outwhat it is that they require in
terms of adaptation andresilience, what are their goals
, what are their aspirations interms of best practices as well.
And if there's anything thatcan bring all the different
(29:34):
elements together, it's theclimate crisis, but it's not
just the UN, it's academia, it'sresearch.
It's the climate crisis, butit's not just the UN, it's
academia, it's research, it'sthe financial system, it's the
private sector, it's thedevelopment actors, because we
cannot be working in silos inthis area, because no one can
tolerate that Least of all thepopulations, who are expecting a
(29:55):
much better and moresubstantive engagement than's
ever happened before, because wealso don't have the money to
waste, nor the time to use COPoperates on a different
timeframe to people who havebeen displaced by conflict, and
that's why this sense of urgencyneeds to be brought to the fore
.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Maria, I guess COP also operates in a different
time frame to people gettingcholera or malaria exacerbated
by climate change.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Yeah, let me maybe keep on this positive spirit of
responding to the crisis thatclimate change represents.
You know, the health sectorrepresents 5% of the global
carbon footprint 5%.
If we were a country, we wereon the top polluting countries.
But of course we need in ourhospitals, we consume a lot of
(30:41):
energy items and supplies, soit's not a question of reducing
that.
But we are creating a mechanismto decarbonize the health
system.
So it's, of course, who, whopremises and the country and all
of our operations, even WHO,purchase a lot of supplies drugs
, medicine and all of that.
So we are doing that now withthe countries with all the
(31:04):
procurement, with Gavi, forinstance, with UNICEF, with the
Global Fund, all the procurement, unitaid we are looking now at
how to reduce that.
And, of course, with theprivate sector.
Imagine the pharmaceuticalcompanies.
If, upstream, they reduce theplastic that will go around, one
of the drugs that we use.
Imagine, at the end of thechain, the tons of plastics that
(31:27):
you can save.
So we work as well with the CEOof the big pharmaceutical
companies to reduce all of theplastic and on the supplies in
the procurement.
But this is decarbonizing thehealth system is possible for
those countries where our healthsystems are having access to
energy and therefore they arecontributing to the carbon
footprint Many countries aroundthe world.
(31:49):
They do not contribute to thecarbon footprint around the
world.
They do not contribute to thecarbon footprint.
So for them, what we are doingthe health systems is to make
sure that they will have gainedaccess to sustainable sources of
energy.
So we are putting solar panelsin many healthcare facilities,
because there is no explanationwhy in many countries in Africa
we don't have solar panels inour healthcare facilities.
(32:10):
Or worse, we have a solar panelto keep one vaccine and one
refrigerator.
So you end up having a roof ona healthcare facility with three
solar panels and still notelectricity on your healthcare
facility.
So, with UNICEF and Gavi andothers, we are putting in place
a system to make sure that weare gaining access to clean
(32:30):
sources of energy in order toproduce those health services
without giving a carbonfootprint.
Every year, we buy all of us anincredible amount of supplies
and procurement for medicaldevices and we need to do it in
a more appropriate way.
We have all of thoserecommendations and criteria and
(32:51):
standards that are contributingto that.
We have all of thoserecommendations and criteria and
standards that are contributingto that.
Many healthcare facilities arestill on emergency situations
and even the poor countries areusing diesel generators to
perform operations at thehealthcare facility.
You see what that means itmeans very expensive, not
reliable, fully pollutant andmaking you very dependent on
(33:12):
importing this diesel.
So many solutions that are inour hands and very positive ones
.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
So here too, there is inspiration and innovation.
Those big UN agencies areseeing the effects of climate
change on the poor andvulnerable, but they are also
thinking carefully about theirown carbon footprint and how
they can reduce it while stillcontinuing the invaluable work
they do.
Their examples should be, wehope, an inspiration for the
(33:42):
rest of us, in particular thosegovernments who think tackling
climate change will cost toomuch, or those individual
citizens could one of them beyou who thinks it will all be
just too much sacrifice.
That brings us to the end ofthis edition of Inside Geneva.
(34:07):
My thanks to Geneva 2050 today,to the WMO and to all our
guests for their participation.
I'm Imogen Fowkes.
Thanks for listening and dojoin us next time.
A reminder you've beenlistening to Inside Geneva, a
Swissinfo production.
(34:27):
You can email us oninsidegeneva at swissinfoch and
subscribe to us and review uswherever you get your podcasts.
Check out our previous episodeshow the International Red Cross
unites prisoners of war withtheir families, or why survivors
of human rights violations turnto the UN in Geneva for justice
(34:51):
.
I'm Imogen Folks.
Thanks again for listening.
This is Inside Geneva .
I'm your host, Imogen Foulkes,and this is a production from
Swissinfo, the internationalpublic media company of
Switzerland.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
In today's programme… .
We now know that 2024 is ontrack to be the warmest year on
record.
At the same time, we haveaccumulated CO2 more than ever
in the history of human life onEarth.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Climate change is making us sick, and it's making
us sick because it's increasingthe possibility of having more
infectious diseases.
Speaker 5 (00:45):
waterborne diseases like cholera is destroying
sometimes the capacity ofproducing food, climate change,
climate chaos, we're saying, isexacerbating human rights
challenges across the boardDisplacement, conflicts,
inequalities and injustice.
Those who are impacted arethose who are the least
responsible for what is going on.
Speaker 6 (01:06):
Anyone who's in the field at the moment.
They shouldn't be using theirown agency vehicles.
We should be having ridesharing.
We've got 6,000 vehicles.
Why aren't they electric?
We've got 6,000 generators.
Why aren't they all basicallybeing solar powered, Howard.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Hello and welcome again to Inside Geneva.
I'm Imogen Fowkes and intoday's programme the very first
of 2025, we're going to try toprovide a bit of inspiration,
motivation and even perhapsoptimism.
Many of us feel helpless in theface of global challenges.
Many of us feel helpless in theface of global challenges.
(01:44):
Many of us are frustrated whenour governments promise big and
deliver very, very small.
A recent example was the latestclimate change conference,
cop29, held in Baku inAzerbaijan.
We now know that 2024 is set tobe the hottest year on record.
(02:04):
We know our chance of stayingwithin the Paris-agreed limit of
a 1.5 degree centigradetemperature rise looks more and
more doubtful and we've seenmore and more extreme weather
events linked to global warming.
But at these big climatesummits, our governments just
(02:27):
don't seem to take it thatseriously.
Even small decisions arehaggled over for days.
Meanwhile, our planet keeps onheating up For the first time
ever global warming has exceeded1.5 degrees Celsius for an
entire year.
Speaker 9 (02:40):
Representatives of dozens of the world's least
developed countries stormed outof a key meeting.
Speaker 10 (02:47):
We just walked out.
We came here to this COP for afair deal.
We feel that we haven't beenheard.
Speaker 9 (02:53):
This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity
of the challenge we all face.
Climate scientists are prettymuch unanimous about the record
temperatures and wildfires thatare sweeping across Europe.
These extreme conditions are adirect consequence of climate
change and will only occur morefrequently and with greater
intensity if nothing is done tostop it.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So what can we ordinary citizens do?
In fact, we may not be ashelpless as we think, and an
organization right here inGeneva proves that.
Its name is Geneva 2050 Today,and its aim is to encourage all
the institutions in town, fromthe private sector to
(03:35):
non-governmental organisations,to diplomatic missions, to the
big UN aid agencies, to settargets which really will comply
with the Paris Agreement.
And not only set the targets,but stick to them.
Last month, geneva 2050 Todayheld a high-level meeting at the
headquarters of the WorldMeteorological Organization to
(03:59):
adopt a climate action plan,hear from organisations who are
signing up and then debate withsome of the biggest humanitarian
agencies the impact of climatechange on health, human rights
and refugees.
Here at Inside Geneva, we got aringside seat at that event,
and we're going to bring you aflavour of that today, starting
(04:22):
with the Executive Director ofGeneva 2050 Today, jean-pierre
Raymond, who reminded us howurgent the situation is.
Speaker 11 (04:31):
Greenhouse gas emissions linked to human
activities have arisen by afurther 1.3% between 2022 and
2023.
The world is heading to atemperature rise with
devastating consequences forpopulation, for the planet and
(04:52):
for economies.
Redactions of 42% are needed by2030 to avoid exceeding
temperatures of 1.5 degrees, areduction objective that will
grow with each year of inaction.
We, and I am very proud to saywe, international Geneva, are
(05:13):
turning the tide tonight.
Our determination to act is theoutcome of a joint and
collective effort by thecreation of 2050 Today, the
Geneva Climate Action Forum, topromote the decarbonisation of
this multilateral ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And in the spirit of multilateralism, multiple
ambassadors were taking part andpledging their support to
Geneva 2050.
Today, here's Matthew Wilson,ambassador of Barbados to the UN
in Geneva.
Speaker 8 (05:46):
In a perfect world, we may actually not have needed
a 2050 Today.
Countries, organisations,entities and individuals would
automatically be aware of theircarbon footprint, already have
tailored plans to cut theiremissions and to reduce food
waste, would be using socialmedia to share best practices
(06:06):
and scalable and replicablesolutions.
But we are an imperfect world.
The fact that we are in aclimate crisis tells us that.
The fact that 2024 is thehottest year on record tells us
that the fact that we now speakof when we will be above 1.5
degrees, and not if.
It is an imperfect world and weare imperfect organisations.
(06:30):
This is why we need 2050 today.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
So how does 2050 today work exactly?
Switzerland's ambassador, jörgLauber, admitted that COP29 had
been less than inspiring, butargued that starting local could
have a ripple effect.
Speaker 10 (06:51):
As key players within international Geneva, we
too can lead by example and takemeaningful action.
Switzerland has set ambitiousgoals reducing emissions by half
by 2030 and achieving carbonneutrality by 2050.
Locally, the canton and city ofGeneva aim even higher,
(07:13):
targeting a 60% reduction inemissions by 2030 and achieving
a net zero balance by 2050.
Achieving these ambitiousobjectives requires harnessing
technological innovation andfostering collaboration across
sectors.
The essence of 2050's todaymission lies in encouraging and
(07:36):
facilitating action.
This initiative serves as abridge, connecting local
projects with broader globalobjectives, creating platforms
for dialogue and fosteringsynergies in ecological
innovation.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
One of the main aims of 2050 Today is to mobilise as
many Geneva-based organisationsas possible and to encourage a
multifaceted approach totackling climate change.
Cecilia Roselli of theNorwegian Refugee Council told
us how her organisation joined2050 Today at the start and then
(08:11):
brought in other Geneva-basedNGOs.
Speaker 7 (08:14):
It's really a pleasure to see how we can
mobilise additional agencies andactors to become more
responsible in the use ofresources, to implement
sustainable procurement byreducing general waste, by
making recycling easier for ourstaff and supporting sustainable
(08:34):
transportation.
We all come to work by bike.
I really think it's anachievement for the 150
colleagues that are joining thehumanitarian hub, but I think
more importantly, we strive tominimise our environmental
footprint in our operations.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Meanwhile, a UN agency was signing up to the
2050 Today Charter for the firsttime.
Andrew Steens, AssistantDirector of the World
Intellectual PropertyOrganisation, told us why.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
As the UN Agency for Innovation and Creativity, we at
WIPO see a central role for thepower of intellectual property
in improving environmentaloutcomes.
And, closer to home, we arecommitted to taking divisive
action in the areas of the 2050Today Charter.
For example, we are reducingour energy consumption year on
year.
We're connected to theincredible Geneva Lake Water
Network, calling.
(09:24):
Our buildings, the park and therooftops on our campus are
designed to support localbiodiversity and to reduce the
costs and needs for watering.
Like others, we're taking awhole of life cycle approach to
procurement, including for ourIT equipment, thinking about how
we dispose of any item at themoment we buy it, not when we
remove it.
But there's a lot more we cando and I'm confident that the
(09:47):
Charterwich signing today willdrive much more further action
at WIPO, in partnership with allof you, in partnership with
International Geneva.
This initiative sends thestrongest signal of our
collective commitment toremaining within our planetary
boundaries and to turning thetide.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Listening to these Geneva organisations, big and
small, and diplomatsrepresenting countries, big and
small, it begins to become clearhow 2050, today's ambitions can
be achieved.
Here's Ambassador Wilson again.
Speaker 8 (10:17):
In my small mission.
We know that our contributionmay be minor in comparison, but
we also understand the power ofcollective movements.
By sharing the 2050 Today toolswith our other embassies
throughout the world, we aresupporting as many actors as
possible to step in and to stepup.
We aim to reduce our emissionsby 45% from our 2022 levels and
(10:41):
to continue to look closely atactions around food waste and
mobility.
Already, we've been retrofittedwith modern energy saving
lighting solutions.
We're working with our reggieto explore solar power.
I can't promise you that you'llever see me riding a bike on
the streets of Geneva, like someof our European ambassadors,
but you'll see me more on busesand trams.
(11:02):
One of the most importantthings that this process has
done for my small mission is tomake us think.
Think of the impact of ourpersonal actions, remind
ourselves that we have a choiceto harm or help our country and
vulnerable populations by makingdecisions that, cumulatively,
will have an impact.
(11:23):
Barbados is proud to be part ofthis quiet revolution of 2050
today.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
So, as I promised at the start, some motivational
content for you on this first ofthe year edition of Inside
Geneva.
But of course, we shouldn'tunderestimate the serious
challenges of climate change andthe harm it is already doing.
So, after hearing from thevarious organisations that are
supporting Geneva 2050 today, wemoved on to a debate with
(11:57):
representatives from key UNorganisations.
We had Celeste Saulo, secretaryGeneral of the World
Meteorological Organisation,nada al-Nasheef, un Deputy High
Commissioner for Human Rights,marina Naira, director of
Environment and Climate Changeat the World Health Organisation
, and Andrew Harper, specialAdvisor on Climate Action at the
(12:20):
UN Refugee Agency.
Advisor on Climate Action atthe UN Refugee Agency.
Here is a flavour of that debateand asking the questions.
(12:41):
Well, you may recognise thatvoice.
Good evening, it's great to seeso many people here and it's
also great, given the reallychallenging world we live in, to
actually take part in a debatewhere there's kind of some
cooperation and optimism.
But you see our panel here tosober you up.
We're going to hear from key UNagencies who are seeing the
(13:03):
effects of climate changefirsthand on the very people
they are trying to serve.
I would like to give the floorfirst to you, celeste Salo of
the WMO.
We would like to hear from youragency's point of view what you
see are the really key strikingchallenges right now.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Thank you very much, and thank you for this question
and the opportunity to sharewith you.
Starting from the very basicthing that is, wmo provides the
science for you to know whereyou are and where we are going
together.
Thanks to the WMO, we now knowthat 2024 is on track to be the
(13:46):
warmest year on record.
At the same time, thanks to WMO, you also know that CO2, carbon
dioxide, is increasing withrespect to pre-industrial times
on around 51%.
So we have accumulated CO2 morethan ever in the history of
(14:09):
human life on Earth and we arecontinuing in that direction.
So we are going in the wrongdirections.
That's why we are concerned.
So you mentioned why we areconcerned.
So this is because of theinformation we bring to this
table.
We know that all the indicatorsfrom ocean, sea level rise,
(14:31):
temperatures, greenhouse gases,everything is going in the wrong
direction.
So that's why there are twomain things we are all speaking
about adaptation and mitigation.
Both are and we can contributein both directions.
Mitigation actions of course, wehave been addressing this a
(14:53):
little bit from the point ofview of the World Meteorological
Organization.
What we can provide is atangible, robust, scientific
information for you to knowwhere we are, in terms of
mitigation, to make sure thatall the policies in place are
going, or not, in the rightdirection.
So that is our greenhouse gasinitiative.
(15:16):
There are many initiativesassociated with this to
understand better the fluxes ofgreenhouse gases and then, in
terms of adaptation, what we canprovide.
Okay, early warning systems areour priority.
Why?
Because they save lives.
Because, thanks to a betterforecast, thanks to a better
(15:37):
warning, we can protect people,and we have many, many examples
of how many lives we have savedthanks to early warnings.
But the problem is that we livein a very unequal world where
early warnings are not foreveryone, and that's why we are
also concerned and we work hardto try to really diminish this
(16:01):
gap between those that are moredeveloped and those that are
less developed, Because, in theend, those that are less
developed are paying the highestprice for what is happening
today.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Thank you very much.
Well, you heard it there.
We live in a very unequal worldand I expect our other three
panellists are going to remindus of that.
We have at the end of the panelhere Maria Neira of the World
Health Organisation.
Maria, we've heard a lot aboutclimate change and health.
Perhaps you could outline forus what you're actually seeing,
(16:33):
what concerns you most?
Speaker 4 (16:35):
Thank you, Imogen, and thank you all for attending
to this call.
Thank you, WMO, for inviting us, for hosting us, and really a
pleasure to discuss about that.
Many of us we were in Baku afew days ago attending this
COP29, where definitely thelevel of ambition and the speed
at which the decisions weretaken is not responding to the
(16:57):
magnitude of the problem we arefacing, particularly for
somebody like me who works inpublic health and we are used
that when we have an issue, weneed to respond as soon as
possible, as quickly as possible.
Climate change is making ussick.
If I can summarize it in oneword, it's making us sick, and
it's making us sick because it'sincreasing the possibility of
(17:21):
having more infectious diseaseswaterborne diseases like cholera
, obviously vector-bornediseases like dengue or malaria
or other diseases transmitted byvectors is destroying sometimes
the capacity of producing food,destroying the agricultural
capacity, and therefore we willhave massive nutritional
(17:43):
problems.
The same causes of climatechange are contributing as well
to air pollution and thereforewe have 7 million premature
deaths every year due to the airpollution, the bad air that we
are breathing.
Climate change is causing thismassive displacement and, of
course, people lose thiscapacity to receive good health
(18:05):
services, Mental health.
We are having more and moreevidence every day about the
impact of climate change onmental health and, of course, we
have all the issues related toheat waves and the extreme
weather events that are having adirect impact on the health of
our people.
And for all of that, at Baku,we're presenting what we call
(18:28):
our report, which is health isthe argument for climate action.
We are convinced that healthcan be not only the one that
will motivate us to respond tothis massive crisis, but as well
the one that will motivate usin a very positive way, Because,
if we implemented the ParisAgreement, in fact this can be
(18:49):
the most powerful public healthtreaty ever, because all the
recommendations under the ParisTreaty are nothing else than
public health recommendations.
That's why we are so happy tohave this very strong
collaboration with WMO onjoining forces on the
preparedness, on collectingmeteorological data, not only on
(19:10):
extreme weather events, on airpollution as well, which is very
, very positive.
I can keep on the positive partlater on, if you want.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Nada Al-Nasheef, deputy High Commissioner for
Human Rights.
Maria there said climate changeis making us sick.
Now, health is supposed to be ahuman right.
I imagine you are seeing theeffects on people's living
standards and their fundamentalrights.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
Absolutely, with many thanks to everyone for coming
together.
We see that climate changeclimate chaos, we're saying is
exacerbating human rightschallenges across the board.
What we already face in termsof displacement, conflicts,
inequalities and injustice, thisidea of irreversible loss and
damage.
There is nothing that we can doin many areas, particularly
(19:57):
because those who are impactedare those who are the least
responsible for what is going on.
The disproportionate effect onpeople is those in vulnerable
situations, of course, which isa very big concern marginalized
communities I mean indigenouspeople, people on the move,
women and girls, people withdisabilities, older persons,
children, young people, and thelist goes on particularly the
(20:20):
link to conflict.
All of this drives furtherinequalities.
It exacerbates risks directlyindirectly affecting the
enjoyment of a wide range ofhuman rights.
So the impact on from we heardalready of course, health, but
also life in general housing,water, food, all of the rights
(20:41):
that we believe are intrinsicand the concern, really more
than that, is that the situationis only expected to get worse,
and I think this is the prismthat the response to the human
rights impacts has been whollyinadequate, as we've heard so
far, and I think we are riskinggoing into tipping points from
which we will never recover.
(21:02):
As far as the resources areconcerned, we are dealing with a
tension deficit, but with theproliferation of humanitarian
crisis, I think we are seeingcompounded inequalities, and the
world is still spending a lotmore to subsidize fossil fuels
than to support climate action.
We've already heard about thelack of ambition and I think,
(21:25):
from this vantage point, we'revery clear that climate
solutions have to be inclusive.
They have to be genderresponsive for them to really
work.
They have to be youth driven.
We have to amplify themarginalized voices in this
space, and these constituencieshave to meaningfully participate
in order to begin to craft.
(21:46):
If we have an opportunity, inthis little nexus that we're
talking about, to be able tolook at climate change and human
rights coming together in amore positive, healthy dynamic,
we hope UN refugees.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
The last time we talked, I was actually
interviewing you specificallyabout displacement and climate
change.
I think you have some fairlyalarming statistics around that
to share with us.
Speaker 6 (22:16):
I do, but I'm not too sure how useful that is,
because I think we already knowit.
I can say that there's 60,000people being sorry, 60,000
displacements taking place perday.
I can say there's 123 millionpeople displaced by conflict at
the moment.
But what we need to be doing islooking beyond the statistics
and say these are individualsand what is the themes?
(22:37):
The themes are that conflictsare not being resolved, the
international community aretaking steps back in terms of
trying to address the underlyingroot causes for those conflicts
and, at the same time, you'vegot climate change but also
other mega trends exacerbatingthose grievances and so, unless
we do more in terms to lookingat these root causes, you're not
(23:01):
going to resolve them.
We're going to be in much moreof a serious situation.
Going to resolve them.
We're going to be in much moreof a serious situation.
But what I will do is sort offocus a little bit more on the
positive and saying that thereare options in terms of getting
money out there, Like what wecan see in the international
community is there is money butthere's a lack of prioritisation
in terms of people.
Like whether you look at theamount of money being invested
(23:22):
in AI and we're talking hundredsof billions of dollars per year
, the amount of money whichflows through Geneva in terms of
trading, what's being broughtforward in terms of
petrochemical profits, but we'relosing in terms of the human
dimension.
So, again, we don't have thetime to go through it, but at
another point, we can.
On the positive side, what Iwill say is that we can all make
(23:46):
a difference, and that'ssupposed to be why we're here.
So we provide unfortunately, wehave to provide millions of
blankets and tents per year, sowe have, for instance, reduced
the amount of new plastics.
So all of these have been usingrecycled materials.
This has brought about areduction of some 20,000 tonnes
of CO2 emissions.
(24:07):
We've got 590 offices around theworld.
They're all trying to introducenew mechanisms.
Anyone who's in the field atthe moment.
They shouldn't be using theirown agency vehicles.
We should be having ridesharing.
We've got 6,000 vehicles.
Why aren't they electric?
We've got 6,000 generators.
Why aren't they all basicallybeing solar powered?
And a lot of it has to do withupfront money.
(24:30):
And so what I would like to askand I'll be very upfront here
there's a lot of things whichyou can achieve in Geneva, and
this is great, but Geneva is notthe field, and where I come
from, I've got an objective, notany objective.
I've got a responsibility tohelp our officers, our teams, in
Chad, in Mozambique, in Sudan,in Iraq, Colombia, and so what
(24:55):
we need to do as the next stepfor 2050 is not just look at
Geneva, but look at how we canensure that the good practices,
the technical expertise, thedrive, the ambition doesn't stay
in Geneva, but gets to theselocations where people need it.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Thank you, Thank you very much.
It's very interesting theexamples you gave there of what
a UN agency is also doing toreduce its own carbon footprint.
I do remember when AntonioGuterres first became secretary
general, he wanted to makeclimate change the absolute
centrepiece of his time inoffice.
Unfortunately, the world hasshifted on its axis somewhat.
(25:32):
We have, as you've all referredto, escalating conflicts.
I'm wondering how well you allare finding it to work together
on this issue, and maybe alsohow attentive member states are,
since their focus is Ukraine,middle East, at the moment.
(25:52):
Who wants to address that first?
Speaker 5 (25:55):
Just to say, because I have a list of things that may
sound terribly bureaucratic,but they're all important in the
sense of bringing us together,as you've just heard.
So we are.
You know, there is a UNEnvironment Management Group,
there is a coordinationmechanism, there's an issue
management group.
We're all sitting on thesethings.
We are working with UNEP, withUNDP, on a lot of these issues
(26:17):
in sustainability terms.
The Secretary General has aninitiative on the critical
energy transition, minerals,which, again, if you're not
involved, but but these are verytangible policy platforms, as
well as, I think, places likethe greening the blue initiative
, which are trying to help usstandardize our work, move
(26:38):
together to reduce environmentalfootprint, at the same time
making sure that we are aligningwith global sustainability
goals.
So I think all of that we havea UN sustainability strategy,
one of many that we're allworking to.
So I think all of this istrying to make sure that we can
advance environmental and socialtargets within the UN system In
(27:01):
some places, with HCR betweenus and refugees, a platform on
disaster displacement, themigration network, of course,
and with WHO.
Many we've heard already aboutearly warning.
I think this is a very bigimperative for all of us.
So there are a lot ofinitiatives to try to make sure
that we are in addition to, ofcourse, common premises and
(27:22):
common procurement guidelines inthe field that are trying to
help us make sure.
I must say that it's a littlebit.
The headwinds are very strongthese days.
There is an anti-rights agenda,which I think we have to be
very clear about, whichmitigates, I think, the space
that we have to be very clearabout, which mitigates, I think,
the space that we have forthese conversations, but also
(27:43):
some of the more affirmativeaction, because, as I said,
there are only so manysoundbites available in any one
newscast and certainly the waythat we cover the news and we
deal with it and, moreimportantly, this analysis of
root causes is not happening ascomprehensively as it should.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Celeste, I think you wanted to come in as well.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Maybe I would like to add certainly.
Yes, the UN Secretary Generalhas a strong position in terms
of climate action.
I would say that, intranslating climate action, the
early warnings for allinitiative is a concrete call to
countries and to the UNagencies, not only the three of
us that are more engaged in eachof the pillars, but all of us,
(28:26):
all of the UN system is reallyresponding to this call and I
would say that it is becoming abrand.
So many countries are alsotaking into consideration that
working on early system helpsthem, and this is, I would say,
a result of multilateralism thatI would like to highlight here
in this context in particular,and also a big effort of the UN
(28:50):
system to work together,understanding that, of course,
climate is very transversal, soit's everywhere.
Of course climate is verytransversal, so it's everywhere,
but the risk that you havesomething everywhere, it may be
nowhere at the same time.
So be attentive and work withus along these lines.
Thank you very much.
Final words.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I think to Andrew and Maria.
Speaker 6 (29:14):
I think it's important that we obviously work
close within the UN, but Idon't think that's the key
element.
I think it's important that weobviously work closely within
the UN, but I don't think that'sthe key element.
I think it's more about workingwith the populations that are
being impacted and finding outwhat it is that they require in
terms of adaptation andresilience, what are their goals
, what are their aspirations interms of best practices as well.
And if there's anything thatcan bring all the different
(29:34):
elements together, it's theclimate crisis, but it's not
just the UN, it's academia, it'sresearch.
It's the climate crisis, butit's not just the UN, it's
academia, it's research, it'sthe financial system, it's the
private sector, it's thedevelopment actors, because we
cannot be working in silos inthis area, because no one can
tolerate that Least of all thepopulations, who are expecting a
(29:55):
much better and moresubstantive engagement than's
ever happened before, because wealso don't have the money to
waste, nor the time to use COPoperates on a different
timeframe to people who havebeen displaced by conflict, and
that's why this sense of urgencyneeds to be brought to the fore
.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Maria, I guess COP also operates in a different
time frame to people gettingcholera or malaria exacerbated
by climate change.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Yeah, let me maybe keep on this positive spirit of
responding to the crisis thatclimate change represents.
You know, the health sectorrepresents 5% of the global
carbon footprint 5%.
If we were a country, we wereon the top polluting countries.
But of course we need in ourhospitals, we consume a lot of
(30:41):
energy items and supplies, soit's not a question of reducing
that.
But we are creating a mechanismto decarbonize the health
system.
So it's, of course, who, whopremises and the country and all
of our operations, even WHO,purchase a lot of supplies drugs
, medicine and all of that.
So we are doing that now withthe countries with all the
(31:04):
procurement, with Gavi, forinstance, with UNICEF, with the
Global Fund, all the procurement, unitaid we are looking now at
how to reduce that.
And, of course, with theprivate sector.
Imagine the pharmaceuticalcompanies.
If, upstream, they reduce theplastic that will go around, one
of the drugs that we use.
Imagine, at the end of thechain, the tons of plastics that
(31:27):
you can save.
So we work as well with the CEOof the big pharmaceutical
companies to reduce all of theplastic and on the supplies in
the procurement.
But this is decarbonizing thehealth system is possible for
those countries where our healthsystems are having access to
energy and therefore they arecontributing to the carbon
footprint Many countries aroundthe world.
(31:49):
They do not contribute to thecarbon footprint around the
world.
They do not contribute to thecarbon footprint.
So for them, what we are doingthe health systems is to make
sure that they will have gainedaccess to sustainable sources of
energy.
So we are putting solar panelsin many healthcare facilities,
because there is no explanationwhy in many countries in Africa
we don't have solar panels inour healthcare facilities.
(32:10):
Or worse, we have a solar panelto keep one vaccine and one
refrigerator.
So you end up having a roof ona healthcare facility with three
solar panels and still notelectricity on your healthcare
facility.
So, with UNICEF and Gavi andothers, we are putting in place
a system to make sure that weare gaining access to clean
(32:30):
sources of energy in order toproduce those health services
without giving a carbonfootprint.
Every year, we buy all of us anincredible amount of supplies
and procurement for medicaldevices and we need to do it in
a more appropriate way.
We have all of thoserecommendations and criteria and
(32:51):
standards that are contributingto that.
We have all of thoserecommendations and criteria and
standards that are contributingto that.
Many healthcare facilities arestill on emergency situations
and even the poor countries areusing diesel generators to
perform operations at thehealthcare facility.
You see what that means itmeans very expensive, not
reliable, fully pollutant andmaking you very dependent on
(33:12):
importing this diesel.
So many solutions that are inour hands and very positive ones
.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
So here too, there is inspiration and innovation.
Those big UN agencies areseeing the effects of climate
change on the poor andvulnerable, but they are also
thinking carefully about theirown carbon footprint and how
they can reduce it while stillcontinuing the invaluable work
they do.
Their examples should be, wehope, an inspiration for the
(33:42):
rest of us, in particular thosegovernments who think tackling
climate change will cost toomuch, or those individual
citizens could one of them beyou who thinks it will all be
just too much sacrifice.
That brings us to the end ofthis edition of Inside Geneva.
(34:07):
My thanks to Geneva 2050 today,to the WMO and to all our
guests for their participation.
I'm Imogen Fowkes.
Thanks for listening and dojoin us next time.
A reminder you've beenlistening to Inside Geneva, a
Swissinfo production.
(34:27):
You can email us oninsidegeneva at swissinfoch and
subscribe to us and review uswherever you get your podcasts.
Check out our previous episodeshow the International Red Cross
unites prisoners of war withtheir families, or why survivors
of human rights violations turnto the UN in Geneva for justice
(34:51):
.
I'm Imogen Folks.
Thanks again for listening.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com