BERLIN – The United Nations is summoning an extraordinary “witness” to testify to the dangers of burning the fossil fuels fueling global warming: a dinosaur.
In a video posted on social media ahead of this year’s United Nations climate change summit, a computer-generated dinosaur stormed the famed United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York to tell global diplomats that “extinction is a bad thing”.
The light clip, voiced by actor Jack Black in the English version, carries a serious message that UNDP hopes to take it home.
The dinosaur declares, “You’re headed toward a climate catastrophe.” However, every year governments spend hundreds of billions of public funds on fossil fuel subsidies. Imagine if we spent hundreds of billions annually supporting giant meteors.”
In an accompanying report released Wednesday, the UN agency said its research shows the world spends more than four times as much each year, about $423 billion, to subsidize fossil fuels to consumers than it does to help poor countries tackle global warming.
The figure does not include the indirect costs of burning oil, coal and gas, such as the damage that fossil fuel emissions do to the environment and human health.
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies, something many governments fear due to concerns that rising prices could lead to social unrest.
The head of the United Nations Development Programme, Achim Steiner, acknowledged that reforming the fossil fuel subsidy system will not be easy and may look different in every country.
“But we also know that we must move away from these energy sources that contribute to the degradation of our planet,” he said. “Ending financial support for them in a fair and equitable manner is a critical component of this transition.”
