NEWS!
A Swiss millionaire aims to save 30% of the planet
The millionaire of Swiss origin Hanjsjörg Wyss will donate 1,000 million dollars (888 million euros at the current exchange rate) over the next 10 years with the aim that by 2030 it has been possible to "save" 30% of the planet. He has announced this through an article that he himself has written for The New York Times, in which he warns about the climate situation on Earth.
"It is estimated that the species of plants and animals on the planet are disappearing at a speed 1,000 times faster than before humans arrived. Climate change is altering natural systems, "explains Wyss in the opinion text published by the main American newspaper.
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Therefore, he believes that all "citizens, philanthropists, companies and government leaders" should be concerned about the "enormous gap" that exists between the natural world protected today and the one that, really, should be protected. In his opinion, this "gap" must be "reduced urgently", before "the human footprint consumes the wild places" that still remain on Earth.
"For my part, I have decided to donate 1 billion over the next decade to help accelerate earth and ocean conservation efforts around the world, with the goal of protecting 30 percent of the planet's surface by 2030." , writes the Swiss millionaire.
Wyss, he explains, wants to "make the public aware of the importance of this effort and finance scientific studies to identify the best strategies" that will help achieve the ultimate goal.
"I believe that this ambitious goal is achievable because I have seen what can be achieved," he says in the article, before calling on governments and other philanthropists to collaborate in the recovery of areas such as Caribbean coral reefs, the glaciers of Argentina or the elephant population in Zimbabwe.
For Wyss, this is "an important moment" to think about this issue, as the international community will meet in September at a new climate summit in which the new global objectives for the protection of land and oceans will be discussed.
Gap between what exists... and what is necessary
However, it also raises an "encouraging" idea among "so depressing" data. It is, he explains, that each person "preserve a substantial part of the planet in its natural state.
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