Programme Director,
Honorable Ministers,
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honour to address this important gathering as it is our collective responsibility to protect the planet.
The world is currently facing a number of environmental challenges including water scarcity, climate change, food insecurity, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss. Many of the drivers of these challenges are anthropogenic and threaten not just the stability and future of human societies but many other forms of life on our planet. As you know, the world population has breached the 8 billion mark recently, further putting a strain in our finite resources.
The United Nations Water Development Report (2023), estimates that between two and three billion people experience water shortages. Approximately 800 million people face food insecurity. In Africa, the situation is even worse. As a result, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that food production must increase by 70%. However, we cannot meet this demand using the same agricultural production and consumption regimes which got us to the problems we are facing today.
Climate change has become the most pressing issue facing our planet. Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report.
This report reaffirms “the interdependence of climate, ecosystems and biodiversity, and human societies; human well-being and sustainable development. The report further cautions that, “Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all. …The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts now and for thousands of years”
While these problems are enormous, they are not intractable provided we adopt adapt the way humans interact with, and draw resources from the earth’s life-support systems, informed by sound policy choices and the best that science and technology can offer us to rebalance pressures on our planetary system.
We must harness new technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing to significantly enhance our capacity for data analysis and modelling of important features of life-support systems such as water, sanitation, crop and livestock and energy production and management.
During COVID-19, science demonstrated what can be achieved when efforts are aligned across different scientific disciplines and across government, business and civil societies in the global efforts aimed at tackling a major pandemic crisis. The emergence of digital technologies assisted our educational systems to continue with schooling during COVID-19.
While we should embrace the unprecedented growth of digital technologies and the significant opportunities they offer, we must not turn a blind eye to the potential risks they present. We must make sure that they are inclusive and do not widen the gap between the rich and the poor; and we must all strive to apply these revolutionary new technologies for the goal of creating a more equal, inclusive and sustainable life for all the inhabitants of the earth.
