The degradation of nature and loss of biodiversity is a degradation of and loss to humanity, an existential threat to society, and indeed to humanity as a whole.
If we are to meet our obligations to future generations, private-sector lobbying has to be reined in and fossil fuel subsidies and supports have to go, as do misleading private sector “education” curricula for school children.
If we lose our major sinks — if they become major sources of GHG emissions — we are sunk. But if we can mobilize globally and locally to protect and manage our carbon sinks, we might yet manage a smart transition to a net-zero future.
One of the biggest challenges in addressing climate change is that it's a very slow-moving crisis. We need to take action now in order to avert problems many years, even decades, into the future.
Because of COVID-19 we stand yet again at a crossroads of history. Too often in my lifetime, we have stood at this same crossroads, and each time we have taken the wrong path. Will we get it right this time?
