In his latest book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” Bill Gates wrote, “National leaders around the world will need to articulate a vision for how the global economy will make the transition to zero carbon. That vision can, in turn, guide the actions of people and businesses around the world.”
Emphasizing the importance of public-private partnerships in tackling climate issues, the Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist urged governments to play a huge role that creates a trickle-down effect to spur leading corporations and individuals to do their part.
Building and consolidating such partnerships is what the world needs most amid the climate crisis, an objective heads of state hope to achieve when Seoul hosts a major climate summit in May.
Stronger Collaboration
From May 30-31, Korea will host online the second Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit. Leading figures from government, business and civil society worldwide will discuss climate change and sustainable development challenges related to food, agriculture, water and energy.
A public-private initiative launched in 2018, the P4G aims to develop concrete partnerships to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. SDGs were part of a global agenda set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly that aims to achieve the following goals by 2030: end poverty and hunger; recognize universal human rights; achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources.
Building strong public-private collaboration is the goal of P4G partners as a prerequisite for combating any global challenge. The governments set out policy directions and provide initial funding, the private sectors carry out real actions with investment, and the civil societies offer innovative ideas and conduct monitoring.
The summit is a global platform for P4G partners to further consolidate such collaboration. World leaders will accelerate commitments to tackle the worsening climate crisis, while doers at the forefront of public-private partnerships worldwide will connect to seek better solutions and breakthroughs to avoid a climate disaster.
Building on past efforts to tackle the climate crisis such as reducing CO2 emissions, leaders of government, business and civil society will target the acceleration of innovative partnerships for a greener world.
The climate disaster that Gates warned about in his book is fast approaching. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2018 released a report warning that a rise of more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels will put millions of human lives at risk due to changes such as rising sea levels and extreme weather.
Such a development would be catastrophic but is fully preventable, thus governments, businesses and individuals around the world must unite and do their part to save the planet.
