Planet's future hanging in the balance says WWF Italia on Earth Day

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 22 - The Italian branch of WWF warned that the future of the planet was on the line on Friday as activists across the country and all over the world took part in events marking Earth Day.
    "It is sufficient to remember that 75% of the earth's surface not covered by ice has been significantly altered," WWF Italia said, referring to the 2020 Living Planet Report.
    "Most of the oceans are polluted.
    "At the moment one million species on the planet are threatened by extinction.
    "The rate of extinction of animal and plant species is 1,000 times the natural rate".
    Earlier this month, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said we've reached the "now-or-never point" to stop a global environmental catastrophe.
    The UN scientists said that, in order to keep the rise in temperatures from going above 1.5C, carbon emissions must peak by 2025 and decline rapidly across all sectors after that, reaching net-zero by the early 2050s.
    The scientists stressed that humanity has the tools and know-how required to limit warming, citing policies and laws that have enhanced energy efficiency, reduced rates of deforestation and accelerated the deployment of renewable energy.
    But they also said that, even if all the policies governments currently had put in place by the end of 2020 to cut carbon emissions were fully implemented, the world will still warm by a devastating 3.2C this century.
    The theme of Earth Day 2022 is 'Invest In Our Planet', putting the emphasis on the need for businesses, , as well as governments and individuals, to embrace the climate challenge and adopt sustainable solutions.
    As Indian scholar and environmental activist Vandana Shiva once said: "it is not an investment if it is destroying the planet".
    (ANSA).