Heads of Government around the world must follow President Ali’s example

President Irfaan Ali was appointed a Commonwealth Champion of Biodiversity. This announcement was made last week at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which was held in St John’s, in Antigua and Barbuda. This distinguished appointment acknowledged President Ali’s strong and consistent advocacy for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. With this appointment, Guyana’s leadership and growing influence in shaping the global environmental agenda are further advanced. President Irfaan Ali joins former President Bharat Jagdeo in gaining global recognition for advocating for a healthier environment. In 2010, the then President Bharrat Jagdeo was appointed by the UN as a Champion of the Earth. This column has consistently predicted that President Irfaan Ali will be Guyana’s second UN Champion of the Earth.
But even as our President and Guyana gain global recognition for their work for a safer and cleaner environment, the global  news continues to be worrisome. For example, recent news has shown more bad news. Global climate change is worsening, with global carbon emissions getting worse. Rainwater, which has served as a source of water for drinking and domestic use for millions around the world, is now a victim of global air pollution. And the plastic pollution story continues to get from bad to worse.
Global research shows that rainwater is widely considered unsafe to drink due to widespread contamination by PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances), also known as “forever chemicals”. A 2022 study by Stockholm University and ETH Zurich found that PFAS levels in rainwater globally frequently exceed strict US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lifetime health advisory limits. These human-made chemicals do not break down easily in the environment and have cycled through the atmosphere to reach even remote areas like Antarctica and the Tibetan Plateau. Long-term exposure to PFAS is linked by researchers to health issues, including increased cancer risks, reduced fertility, high cholesterol, and developmental delays. Even apart from PFAS, untreated rainwater can pick up airborne dust, smoke, bacteria, and chemical residues from roofs, gutters, and storage tanks.
Scientists fear PFAS may pose health risks, including cancer, though research has so far been inconclusive. They have been growing increasingly concerned about the proliferation of PFAS in recent years. Public health agencies like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise that untreated rainwater should not be drunk directly. While standard boiling removes germs and bacteria, it does not remove chemical pollutants like PFAS. Specialised treatment systems (such as high-end activated carbon or reverse osmosis filters) are required to reduce chemical contamination.
On another front, plastic pollution continues to accelerate globally, driven by rising production levels that outpace waste management capacity and a warming climate that speeds up the breakdown of debris into microplastics. Plastic pollution exacerbates the impacts of all planetary boundaries, including climate change, ocean acidification and biodiversity loss. Using the planetary boundaries framework, the researchers conclude that plastic pollution impacts all nine boundaries affecting the environment, health, and human wellbeing.
Over 500 million tonnes of plastics are produced annually, yet only nine per cent are recycled worldwide. This widespread production and insufficient recycling cause problems everywhere, from the peak of Mount Everest to the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. Plastics are often seen as something that makes our lives easier and that can be easily cleaned up once it becomes waste. But this is far from reality. Most plastics are made up of thousands of different chemicals. Many of them, such as endocrine disruptors and PFAS chemicals, pose toxicity and harm to ecosystems and human health.
We have known about the plastic problem for decades now. But our inaction around the world has continued to cause a worsening plastic problem. A report by the Pew Charitable Trusts projects that plastic pollution will more than double over the next 15 years, reaching nearly one garbage truck of plastic entering the environment every second by 2040. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has grown so dense with microplastics that it is visibly altering the colour of the Pacific Ocean water. Climate change worsens the crisis by breaking down plastics faster into mobile, toxic particles.
This is the worsening global environmental situation that confronts us, even as carbon emissions, diversity loss, and climate change continue to get worse than we even projected ten years ago. In fact, the drive to keep the temperature increase to below 1.5 degrees centigrade has now been lost, and we are looking at an average temperature increase of at least 1.8 degrees centigrade. World leaders gathering for COP 31 must address this and other issues.
COP31 is the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference. It is presently underway in Antalya, Türkiye. At the summit, world leaders, experts, and civil society representatives are discussing joint solutions to combat climate change and build a sustainable future. Hosted by Türkiye, this conference is an important gathering for shaping global climate policies.
COP31 (31st Conference of the Parties) is the latest session of the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since 1995, these annual summits have served as the primary global platform for negotiating and advancing collective action against climate change. COP31 represents a critical milestone where countries are expected to strengthen their climate commitments and accelerate the transition toward a low-carbon future.
Decisions made at COP31 will influence a wide range of areas, from national carbon reduction targets and energy policies to sustainable development strategies and climate finance mechanisms. Landmark agreements such as the Paris Agreement (COP21) have already reshaped global policy frameworks, and COP31 is expected to further drive the next phase of climate action and economic transformation.
The examples of President Irfaan Ali, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and their Government, and a handful of other leaders around the world must be amplified if we are to confront and counter the bad environmental  news that keeps accumulating. Time is running out on us.