Eight years ago in Paris, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the COP21 by stating that "Paris must mark a turning point [-]" towards limiting global warming to 1.5 ° Celsius.1 Today, the window of opportunity to achieve this goal is closing before our eyes: The past eight years have been the warmest on record worldwide2 and the critical 1.5 C threshold for annual temperatures will likely be exceeded in at least one year before 2027.3 Record-breaking droughts, heatwaves and floods are already plaguing the world.
They are inflicting suffering and damage on every continent and serve as a mere glimpse into the future. It is everyone's duty to take every possible step to ensure that the Paris climate goal is reached. Not only is this a matter of justice for future generations, it is also undoubtedly a matter of justice and responsibility for today's.