-By Thomas Crowther and Lucy Mulenkei, co-chairs of the advisory board to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Hundreds of thousands evacuated following floods in China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, the UK and Germany. Droughts across 40% of the USA, a record drought in Brazil leads to massive power cuts, while Madagascar is on the brink of famine. Record heat in Canada. Wildfires scorching Greece, Italy and Siberia, causing severe air pollution in Mongolia. We no longer need to state the obvious -- this is a climate crisis of our own creation.
As the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in response to the latest IPCC report: we've been told for over three decades of the dangers of allowing the planet to warm. The world listened, but it didn't act strongly enough.