UN launches Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to counter ‘triple environmental emergency’

Heads of Government, religious leaders, activists and artists joined the United Nations on Friday in a rallying cry to heal the planet, launching the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. With humanity facing a “triple environmental emergency” of biodiversity loss, climate disruption and escalating pollution, now is the time to act, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message for the online virtual gala. “We are reaching the point of no return for the planet,” he warned. “We are ravaging the very ecosystems that underpin our societies, and in doing so, we risk depriving ourselves of the food, water and resources we need to survive.” The UN Decade runs through 2030, which is the timeline scientists have identified as humanity’s last chance to prevent catastrophic climate change.