MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petro lashes out at 21st Century “slavers” who cry “freedom”

“It is fundamental today to change debt for climate action,” Petro insisted

Colombian President Gustavo Petro Sunday lashed out at those he dubbed “slavers” who cry “freedom” but “take human beings and living beings to the market for sale.” The leftwing leader also pointed out during the opening ceremony of the 16th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP-16) in Cali that “the buyer is a specter of death.”

“A life is not chained, does not kneel, is not sold, does not allow itself to be exploited,” Petro went on. He was also highly critical of those who “deny that the extinction of biodiversity and life has begun.”

“Deluded are those who think in world forums such as this one that the free market can lead to the maximization of well-being and that it will lead human beings to be the bearers of life,” he also argued.

Petro also argued that “it is essential to exchange debt for climate action” and called on “the powerful economies of the United States, China, and Europe” to charge interest surcharges on debt “to those countries that can still absorb CO2 from the atmosphere like sponges through our biodiversity” because “it is the richest predators who must be taxed to eliminate carbon from production and consumption.”

“The only raison d'être of humanity is life itself, to take care of life and not to destroy it,” he added while questioning a world coupling Artificial Intelligence - which “expands without any human regulation, without a regulation built, public, rational and collectively by all the peoples of the world” - with the use of “dirty and fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas.” When “climate collapse is articulated with Artificial Intelligence, Armageddon occurs,” he stressed.

In Petro's view, “we need to change global finance, is the theme of this forum; today they are linked to greed, that is to say, to death.” Hence, “it is fundamental today to change debt for climate action,” Petro insisted.

The COP-16 event is expected to be attended by delegations from 196 countries including 140 ministers and seven heads of state, under the protection of some 11,000 Colombian law enforcement troops supported by UN and US security personnel. In addition, some 12,000 visitors are foreseen to be arriving in Cali for the gathering spanning through Nov. 1 under the motto “peace with nature.”

The conference seeks to follow up on the commitments made for the conservation of biological diversity, draw up work plans, and guarantee financing for concrete actions in favor of the environment.

Colombian National Indigenous Organization Advisor Oswaldo Rayo pointed out during the opening ceremony that an economy “to balance life” was necessary as a mechanism to achieve reconciliation between human beings and nature. “Extractive economies are killing the life of the planet,” he underlined.

In a video appearance, UN Secretary-General António Guterres hoped that the gathering would “move from words to specific action.” Guterres also underlined that the destruction of nature inflames conflict, anger, disease, fuel poverty, inequality, and the climate crisis while harming sustainable development and cultural heritage. A collapse of nature's services, he said, would cost the global economy trillions of dollars a year, with the poorest people most affected.

“They must leave Cali with significant investments in the Global Biodiversity Fund and a commitment to mobilize other sources of public and private finance to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework in its entirety. And those who benefit from nature must contribute to its protection and restoration,” Guterres said.

He also said developing countries were benefiting asymmetrically from the advances in the digitized DNA of biodiversity that underpins scientific discovery and economic growth. The UN Secretary-General also defended the role of indigenous peoples as guardians of biological diversity.