HEAL THE PLANET

As climate-driven disasters intensify, the costs are falling hardest on the poor, underscoring the urgent need for a just transition to clean energy and a net-zero-emissions economy. Although multilateralism is no longer in vogue, it remains the only viable path forward

- Juan Manuel Santos

On my first day in office as Colombia’s president just over 15 years ago, I met with the leaders of four indigenous peoples in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta - the Kogui, Arhuaco, Wiwa, and Kankua-mo. As we stood together in the shadow of a magnificent mountain range next to the Caribbean Sea, the wisdom they imparted transformed how I viewed my responsibilities as a leader. It also changed how I saw our collective duty as transitory inhabitants of this increasingly bruised planet.

I was given a wooden baton ~ a symbol of power -to remind me to strive toward two goals: peace among our citizens after 50 years of conflict, and peace with nature. The indigenous leaders warned me that our relationship with the natural world had been harmed, that nature was angry, and that we would suffer the consequences. Two weeks later, La Niña hit Colombia with devastating floods, and I spent the first two years of my administration supporting those affected and preparing for the next natural disaster.

We now live in a world threatened by shattering storms — both physical and ideological. Just recently, flooding killed at least 1,006 people in Pakistan, with 2.5million reportedly evacuated from Punjab and Sindh, regions that were also hit by colossal flooding in 2022. Disturbing attacks on multilateralism and the post-World War II institutional foundations of human rights are making matters worse. Our entire value system, it seems, is under siege.