Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, GEF CEO and Chairperson:
When it comes to climate change we have gotten used to talking about decades, but the latest science shows that our response needs to occur within years. To avoid the worst of climate change, all our near-term actions need to pull in the same direction – we need to invest in healthy and carbon-absorbing forests, lands, and ocean waters; to steer industries and cities onto greener paths; and to align our policies and plans with sustainability in focus. If we continue to treat ‘the environment’ separately from ‘the economy,’ our time left to act is going to slip away. We do not have endless time to achieve carbon neutrality – 2050 is just around the corner.