During the final week of the COP26 summit, CNN hosted its first-ever Call to Earth Day, a day of action dedicated to conservation, environmentalism, and sustainability.
A centerpiece of the day was a discussion moderated by Connect the World anchor Becky Anderson filmed live from the Expo 2020 site in Dubai. The panel featured Razan Al Mubarak, Bolivian conservation biologist Erika Cuéllar, and youth from the United Arab Emirates and the wider region. The conversation focused on the climate crisis and biodiversity, taking in topics such as food security, urban planning, and how the new generation can engage in the fight against climate change.
In her opening remarks, Ms. Al Mubarak said:
“We are witnessing two existential crises. The crisis of climate change and at the same time we are facing another critical issue, the biodiversity crisis. We have encroached as humanity on all spaces, be it land or be it sea, and we are causing incredible damage. We are losing species at an incredible rate. We need to recognize what nature provides to humanity. It’s everything. It’s the air that we breathe, the food that we eat, and the climate that we actually depend on.”