The International Mother Earth Day, established by the UN to recall the urgency of acting for the planet is celebrated every April 22. This year, it was the occasion for the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, to launch his call to intensify climate action and to invest massively in adaptation and resilience. ‘From the air we breathe to the water we drink to the soil that grows our food, humanity’s health depends on the health of Mother Earth,’ adding ‘yet we seem hellbent on destruction. Our actions are laying waste to forests, jungles, farmland, wetlands, oceans, coral reefs, rivers, seas and lakes. Biodiversity is collapsing as million species teeter on the brink of extinction, he lamented in a message published on the United Nations website. ‘We must end these relentless and senseless wars on nature. We have the tools, the knowledge and the solutions. But, we must pick up the pace. We need accelerated climate action with deeper, faster emissions cuts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°Cs. We also need massively scaled-up investments in adaptation and resilience, particularly for the most vulnerable countries and communities who have done the least to cause the crisis’, he said. ‘Healthy ecosystems – from oceans and rivers to forests and prairies – are also critical in our fight against climate change. Let’s get to work to implement the historic United Nations biodiversity agreement to ensure that 30 per cent of Earth’s land and water is protected by 2030’. ‘Governments must lead the way. But, corporations, institutions and civil society also have a vital role.’ ‘Finally, we must learn from the time-won wisdom, knowledge and leadership of Indigenous Peoples, whose environmental stewardship stretches back millennia, and who hold many of the solutions to the world’s climate and biodiversity crises,’ he underlined. //Acceleration of climate change The world’s countries are celebrating Earth Day this Saturday in the face of accelerating climate disruption. The annual report of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for 2022, indicates that the years 2015-2022 were the eight warmest on record. In addition, melting glaciers and rising sea levels – which again reached record levels in 2022 – will continue for thousands of years. The report also notes, an increase in undernourishment that has been exacerbated by the combined effects of hydrometeorological hazards and Covid-19, as well as prolonged conflict and violence. In addition, throughout the year, hazardous weather and climate events led to further population displacement and worsened living conditions for several million people around the world. The report focuses on ecosystems and the environment. It shows how climate change is affecting recurring natural events, such as the flowering of trees or the migration of birds. // Climate change affects the daily lives of Tunisians In Tunisia, the effects of climate change are beginning to be felt severely, starting with the unprecedented state of drought and rainfall deficit that the country is experiencing and which has forced the National Water Distribution Utility (SONEDE) to implement a quota system for water cut-off and strongly impacted crop yields. The impact of water stress may cost the country between 0.3 and 0.4 points of growth in 2023, according to an estimate by the economist Ridha chkondali. Furthermore, according to the first African edition of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Climate Survey 2022, published in December 2022, about 84% of the Tunisian population say that climate change has already affected their daily lives. According to this survey 52% of the Tunisian population believe that climate change and environmental damage have affected their income or livelihoods. International Mother Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, in the United States. In 1971, the United Nations declared April 22 as the official “Earth Day”.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse