https://unfccc.int/news/open-letter-by-the-executive-secretary-on-covid-19
The world faces an unprecedented threat from COVID-19. It is a global crisis unlike any in recent history — one that is spreading human suffering, destabilizing the global economy and upending the lives of billions of people around the globe.
UN Climate Change staff stand in solidarity with all those affected by COVID-19.
The world will get through this crisis, but only if we act together in a spirit of solidarity, hope and resolve.
Climate Action Continues
In unison with the UN family, while addressing the COVID-19 crisis, UN Climate Change continues its important work. Climate change and COVID-19 are not the same, but what is, is the concept of humanity working towards a common goal for the benefit of all people.
Our work in 2020 is not, in any form, on hold. The climate emergency has not taken time off for the coronavirus. Nor will it prevent extreme weather events and other climate related impacts, which are already causing casualties. We all are working remotely, groups are meeting virtually, and we are maximizing our efforts to ensure that we continue to support global efforts to address climate change and reduce emissions.
2020 remains critical for making progress on climate change. We are reminded that planet Earth registered its second-hottest year on record in 2019. This capped off a five-year period that ranks as the warmest span in recorded history. In 2019, hurricanes, wildfires and floods cost the world $150 billion. Losses for business and the economy—before Covid-19 hit—were already expected to increase because of a decade-long rise in natural catastrophes with direct links to climate change.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, now is not the time for retreat.
Instead, never has the need for climate ambition been more crucial, specifically raising ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance, including building on the work of the 2019 Climate Action Summit. While Covid-19 may have postponed COP26, it has not postponed the need for Parties to accelerate work towards fulfilling commitments they have already made. Nor does it postpone the requirement for nations to submit or revise their national climate action plans—known as NDCs—in 2020. The world’s window of opportunity to address climate change is closing soon: time is a luxury we simply do not have.
From Despair to Hope
In the midst of the pandemic, a window of hope and opportunity opens: an opportunity for nations to shape the economy of the 21st century in ways that are greener, cleaner, healthier and more resilient. In other words, a chance to recover better.
We urge governments, as they roll out their economic financial support, to make those plans as green and sustainable as possible.
Covid-19 has revealed the world’s vulnerabilities, many of which intersect with the climate crisis. At the same time, it has highlighted the importance of expertise and science, cooperation, information and transparency. And it has, in many cases, demonstrated that societies can, when necessary, pull together to address a global challenge with bold responses.
UN Climate Change will draw upon these lessons as we adjust to the new reality. And we stand ready to support countries in their climate change efforts, now and beyond COVID-19.
Executive Secretary's Bio
On 18 May 2016, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Patricia Espinosa of Mexico as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Ms. Espinosa took office on 18 July 2016.
Ambassador of Mexico to Germany since 2012 and from 2001 to 2002, Ms. Espinosa was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico from 2006 to 2012, bringing more than 30 years of experience at highest levels in international relations, specialized in climate change, global governance, sustainable development, gender equality and protection of human rights.
As Mexico's representative on multilateral bodies and international organizations in Vienna, Geneva and New York, Ms. Espinosa has been engaged as leader in the global challenge to address climate change and its consequences, notably as Chair of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC leading to the adoption of the Cancun Agreements. Named by the UN Secretary-General to the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post 2015 Development Agenda, she is a tireless supporter of multilateralism as a way to improve conditions for development in all regions of the world, understanding the inextricable link between the aims of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Elected Chair of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly (1996) she played a key role in the process leading to the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action at the 4th World Conference on Women. Previous Ambassador of Mexico to Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia and UN Organisations in Vienna (2002-2006), she was Chief of Staff to the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1989-1991) and responsible for economic issues at the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN in Geneva (1982-1988).
Born in 1958, she has postgraduate studies in International Law from the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva and is holder of a Degree in International Relations from El Colegio de Mexico. Fluent in English and German, she is confident in French with Spanish mother tongue.
Add new comment