Let’s imagine that in a year 22.4 million cars disappear from the roads. One after the other, evaporated from the asphalt, leaving no trace. This equates to 96 million tonnes less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. On a suffocating planet, such figures might seem like an exercise in science fiction or naive optimism, but they are not. In reality they are the concrete result of something that, despite its potential, goes unnoticed: the enormous power of collective action. When governments come to the table, the private sector engages, communities participate and international organizations accompany, results are achieved.
These figures are real and have been achieved thanks to the work carried out by the Green Climate Fund, the largest multilateral initiative to finance emissions reduction and adaptation to climate change in developing countries. This mechanism, created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), celebrates ten years, a period in which it has improved the lives of almost 250 million people (around five times the population of Spain). They are much more than just numbers: they are schools that don’t flood, fields that bear fruit again, families that don’t have to abandon their land or women who lead their communities.
Ten years ago, the world decided to opt for an instrument of justice and hope that respected the commitments made in the Paris Agreement. The Fund was born with a key idea: no country is immune from the climate crisis, but those who cause it the least are the ones who suffer it the most. Its raison d’être is to tackle the climate crisis: to turn commitments into tangible results and support the most affected communities to adapt and thrive.
The Green Climate Fund has launched its “50 by 30” proposal, which consists of mobilizing 50 billion dollars between now and 2030
A path driven by results
In a context like the current one in which the climate crisis is progressing as much as the questioning of multilateralism, Bangladesh, Paraguay and Rwanda have demonstrated that this formula works. Not as a miracle, but as a direct consequence of a collective will that supports commitments with planning, coordination and resources. It is also proof that contributing to all this is not just an act of climate justice, but an intelligent investment with multiplier effects: where there is resilience, there is development; where there is development, there is peace. Everyone wins.
Not taking responsibility means irreparable losses: lives cut short, opportunities disappearing, forests and environments destroyed. And not just for those living in the most affected regions; also for the planet as a whole, because everything is connected. What happens in the Mekong Delta, the Amazon or the Mediterranean ends up impacting, in one way or another, global stability. And its consequences are very serious: death of people, loss of ways of life, food insecurity or democratic instability.
It is no coincidence that 19 of the 25 countries most affected by the climate crisis are also conflict scenarios. Climate change, poverty and violence form a vicious cycle that threatens peace and human rights. Today the planet is experiencing the greatest number of conflicts since the Second World War, a reality that cannot leave us indifferent. Ignoring this link would be, as well as irresponsible, a dangerous form of collective blindness.
The urgency of the possible
The scope to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement is narrowing, but we still have time. Aware of this, the Green Climate Fund has launched its “50 for 30” proposal, which consists of mobilizing 50 billion dollars between now and 2030 to expand its impact and respond to the crisis with the scale and urgency required by a crucial moment like the one we live in. A commitment to solidarity and concrete actions that can make the difference between collapse and hope.
The future is not foreseen; it is shared, it is financed, it is built
The Brazilian city of Belém hosts the United Nations climate summit. In the heart of the Amazon, the lungs of our common home, leaders from all over the world sit in front of an uncomfortable mirror: that of time running out, that of global warming which already exceeds the 1.5 degrees established by the Paris Agreement, that of a planet writhing between floods, hurricanes and droughts. This appointment cannot be just another. It should be an opportunity to consolidate an action model that has already demonstrated its effectiveness.
Let’s recognize the obvious: there are collective formulas that work, that have succeeded in reducing tons and tons of carbon dioxide, that protect our mother Earth and save lives. This decade has shown that adaptation delivers measurable results; The next one will have to prove that the world is willing to fund them before they disappear. The window for action is narrowing, but it is still open. At this point pushing him is not an option, it is an essential duty. The future is not foreseen; it is shared, it is financed, it is built.
