‘Save your species’: UN uses dinosaur in fossil fuel message
PTI, Oct 27, 2021, 3:42 PM IST
Image source: UNDP / Screengrab
Berlin: The United Nations is summoning an unusual “witness” to testify to the dangers of burning fossil fuels that stoke global warming: a dinosaur.
In a video released on social media ahead of this year’s U.N. climate change summit, a computer-generated dinosaur bursts into the U.N.’s famous General Assembly hall in New York to tell world diplomats that “going extinct is a bad thing.”
The light-hearted clip, voiced in the English version by actor Jack Black, carries a serious message that the U.N. Development Programme hopes to drive home.
“You’re headed for a climate disaster,” the dinosaur proclaims. ”And yet every year, governments spend hundreds of billions of public funds on fossil fuel subsidies. Imagine if we had spent hundreds of billions per year subsidizing giant meteors.”
In an accompanying report released Wednesday, the U.N. agency says its research shows that the world spends more than four times as much each year, about $423 billion, to subsidize fossil fuels for consumers than it does to help poor countries tackle global warming.
The figure doesn’t include the indirect costs of burning oil, coal, and gas, such as the harm fossil fuel emissions do to the environment and human health.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called for an end to subsidies on fossil fuels, something many governments are wary of because of fears higher prices could spark social unrest.
The head of the U.N. Development Programme, Achim Steiner, acknowledged that reforming the system of fossil fuel subsidies would not be easy and might look different in each country.
“But we also know that we must move away from these energy sources that are contributing to our planet’s decline,” he said. “Ending financial support for them in a way that is fair and equitable is a critical element of that transition.”
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
MP: Pregnant tribal woman made to wash blood stains off hospital bed as injured husband dies
Bantwal: Old video of elderly woman bursting firecrackers in hand goes viral
2-yr-old Kenyan national becomes India’s youngest pancreatic donor
Watch | Chaos in Ghaziabad court, lawyers clash with police, video goes viral
Piyush Goyal’s chat with German Vice Chancellor in metro on China goes viral
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy booked for threatening police officer
Bantwal: Theft at Shree Mahalingeshwar temple
Delhi riots case: HC dismisses plea by Khalid Saifi against attempt to murder charge
States not empowered to take over all private properties for distribution to serve common good: SC
Chhattisgarh NAN ‘scam’: FIR against 2 retired IAS officers, former AG
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.