Caputova at Climate Conference in Dubai: Humanity Rushing into Abyss

Dubai, December 1 (TASR) - Findings regarding progress in mitigating global warming since the adoption of the Paris Climate Accords in 2015 show that humanity is rushing into an abyss, Slovak President Zuzana Caputova stated on Friday in her address at the ongoing UN conference COP28 on climate change in Dubai. "How many more climate events do we need to prevent a free fall into this abyss?" she asked the conference participants. The Slovak head of state continued that the number of weather-related disasters has almost tripled over the past four decades. "Every five seconds someone dies prematurely due to pollution. If we do nothing, it will soon be every four seconds," she warned. According to Caputova, 88 percent of diseases due to climate change in the world currently affect children under the age of five. "How long do we want to harm future generations?" she asked and emphasised that effective solutions to mitigate the consequences of the climate crisis are already available in the form of technologies as well as resources. "Our efforts must be ambitious, collective and universal," she stated, pointing out that, according to scientists, the amount of emissions in the world must peak by 2025. The president went on to say that Slovakia has already reached its peak in the production of emissions, and in 2030 it will produce 55 percent less emissions than in 1990. In the next seven years, Slovakia will reinvest 5 percent of GDP from public resources to decarbonise the economy and society. At the end of this year, Slovakia will stop using coal for the production of electricity and within three years it will gradually phase it out of heat production as well. A total of 85 percent of electricity in Slovakia is already produced with zero emissions, while the Slovak Republic wants to increase this share to 90 percent by 2025. By 2030, electricity produced from renewable sources in Slovakia should account for 29 percent, said Caputova, adding that Slovakia is taking a responsible approach to addressing the climate crisis. am/mcs