It has been 30 years since world leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro and agreed on a set of measures to start the global mobilisation against human-caused climate change and to meet the imperative of a more sustainable development model. Their Rio Declaration affirmed that "human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature".
Today, tens of millions of people who were not even born in 1992 are suffering the worst of the climate crisis. In a world already plagued by economic inequality and social injustice, Covid-19 has exposed and exacerbated the policy failures of the past three decades.
To overcome inertia, policymakers everywhere would do well to listen to those on the front lines of the climate crisis who are demonstrating real leadership and innovation.
