Climate experts speak

Dr. Juan Almendares is the Founder of Movimiento Madre Tierra (Mother Earth Movement), a Progressio partner organisation. He argues that Honduras is in “an intensive care unit”, with increasingly severe storms devastating local communities. 

Honduran communities are vulnerable because of “social injustice and environmental policies”. Dr Almendares argues that we need transformation, not adaptation. Cancun must take a position against policies that rich countries impose on the rest of the world.

Marco Burgos is a Honduran expert on natural disasters and risk reduction, once helping to lead the country’s state response to climate change. Deaths due to more intense weather are devastating but preventable, he argues. 

Marcos says that ongoing economic losses are often due to large-scale climate events. He also argues that developed nations are “highly responsible”, and a lack of agreement will mean immense human suffering. Developing countries need resources to organise themselves. Burgos says, “we can’t solve problems by ignoring them”, and instead calls for more sustainable patterns of consumption and production.