UNITED NATIONS, April 22 (Xinhua) -- In a stern warning on International Mother Earth Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized on Monday the urgent need for global cooperation to restore environmental harmony.

"Humanity is acting like Mother Earth's delinquent child," the secretary-general said, outlining the extensive harm caused by human activities such as pollution, biodiversity loss, and unchecked greenhouse gas emissions, which jeopardize essential natural resources and destabilize the climate.

"These actions harm nature, and they harm humanity," Guterres said, highlighting the threats to food production, ocean and air quality, and overall environmental stability. He added that achieving sustainable development hinges on restoring balance with nature and adopting sustainable production and consumption practices.

The top UN official called for decisive actions to halt biodiversity loss, end pollution, and significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. He emphasized the importance of supporting communities most affected by environmental crises, including indigenous peoples and local communities.

While calling for "delivering climate justice to countries on the frontline of climate chaos," he advocated for swift mobilization of the necessary finance and support to enable countries to protect nature and foster sustainable development.

Guterres also demanded that countries generate new national climate plans aimed at capping the global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

These plans should serve as frameworks for national transitions and investments to sustain future generations, he said. Additionally, he challenged the G20 nations to lead a rapid, equitable, and well-funded global phase-out of fossil fuels and eliminate harmful subsidies, particularly those fostering the production of environmentally damaging plastics.

"Repairing relations with Mother Earth is the mother of all of humanity's challenges," the secretary-general warned, calling for immediate, collective action to secure a sustainable future for all.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed April 22 as International Mother Earth Day through a resolution adopted in 2009. The day recognizes the Earth and its ecosystems as humanity's common home and the need to protect her to enhance people's livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity. Enditem

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