Climate change, cyber threats, nuclear war… The planet is surrounded by dangers and never before have we been so close to the end of the world. “Only 100 seconds from midnight”, as marked by the symbolic . It is just that, a symbolic clock, but it shows the little margin of error that the world has and the urgency that there is for those responsible to make decisions now to attack all these threats.
This clock was created in 1947 by the directors of the so-called Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists) and every year they update when the Final Judgment will arrive. In both 2018 and 2019 it marked the end of the world two minutes after midnight – midnight being the moment of the “total and catastrophic destruction” of Humanity. It was thus equaling the milestone of 1953, a year marked by threats in the context of the Cold War, when the US and the Soviet Union tested hydrogen bombs.
But in one year it has made a truly remarkable leap: The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has set its clock for 2020 to just “100 seconds to midnight.” In other words, we have never been this close to the apocalypse.
“We are expressing how close the world is to catastrophe, not hours or even minutes”
The president of the Bulletin, Rachel Bronson, has realized this Thursday the irreparable damage if it continues without acting: “We are expressing how close the world is to catastrophe, not hours or even minutes.” “We are facing a true emergency, an absolutely unacceptable state of world affairs that has eliminated any margin for error or any further delay.”
According to his the bulletin affirms that humanity continues to face two simultaneous existential dangers: nuclear war and climate change, combined with a threat multiplier, a cybernetic information war that undermines the response capacity of society.
“The international security situation is serious, not only because these threats exist, but because world leaders have allowed the international political infrastructure to manage them to erode,” he criticizes.
In the nuclear arena, for example, it decries the fact that national leaders have ended up undermining several important arms control treaties and negotiations over the past year, creating an environment conducive to a renewed nuclear arms race, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the reduction of the barriers to nuclear war.
And while he points out that public awareness of the climate crisis grew over the course of 2019, largely due to mass protests by young people around the world, he adds that government action on climate change is still a long way from meeting the goal. challenge in question.
“At last year’s UN climate meetings, national delegates delivered excellent speeches but presented few concrete plans to further limit the carbon dioxide emissions that are altering the Earth’s climate.”
Former California Governor Jerry Brown, CEO of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, has also noted the urgent need for action: “Dangerous rivalry and hostility between superpowers increases the likelihood of a nuclear mistake. Climate change only exacerbates the crisis. If there’s ever a time to wake up, it’s now.”
Members of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists are not alone in their quest. For the first time, members of , a group of independent world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007 who work together for peace and human rights have joined them.
“We are facing the most dangerous situation humanity has ever faced”
“We call on world leaders to join us in 2020 as we work to pull humanity back from the abyss. The Doomsday Clock now stands at 100 seconds to midnight, the most dangerous situation humanity has ever faced. It is the It’s time to unite, unite and act,” said Mary Robinson, president of The Elders and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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