The occupation of Crimea and part of Donbas by Russia has led to the emergence of two centers of environmental danger in the center of Europe, this is a common threat to the whole world, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“In 1994, Ukraine received security guarantees that were not fulfilled. The planet, on the other hand, received two eco-bombs in the center of Europe: the occupied Crimea and part of Donbas. An island with unique flora and fauna became a naval base of Russia. And in part of Donbas: flooding of mines, soil degradation, lack of drinking water,” Zelensky said at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in the UK.
He called it a threat to the whole world, noting that agreements are worthless if for someone they are just words.
“In our time, trouble, wherever it happens, affects everyone. This is proved by the explosion at Chornobyl nuclear power plant, from which not only Ukraine suffered, but also dozens of countries around the world,” the president said.
According to Zelensky, if humanity stops fulfilling the agreements and real steps to save the planet, it will sink into cataclysms.
“We will be able to swim in the sea only in chemical protection suits, the rest of our life we will spend in respirators, clean drinking water only on weekends, products grown not on toxic soil only for the New Year, and the average life expectancy in the world will be 23 years. Perhaps this would be a just punishment for humanity. For those who have forgotten that this is our planet. Only we can fix this. And it is not the symptoms that need to be treated, but the root cause. Change not the principles of production and subsoil use, but global thinking and behavior,” the head of state said.
He also said the changes should affect the priorities of world politics and each state separately.
“To measure not only financial but above all environmental growth. Not only the level of GDP and inflation but also the purity of air, water, and land. Perceive any territory not as a market for goods and services, but as a home for thousands of flora and fauna. To be proud not of new models of technology, not so much of what we create, but of the fact that we are saving something. Many words have been said. It is time to fulfill them. Fast, without delay,” Zelensky said.
COP26 started in Glasgow on Oct. 31 and will run until Nov. 12. Representatives from nearly 200 countries are expected to attend.
