Celeste Saulo, the future secretary of Argentina’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), is determined to fight passionately against climate change and its negative impacts on people’s lives. In an interview with AFP, Saulo, who has been heading Argentina’s National Meteorological Service since 2014, expressed serious concern that some countries do not get the message about the effects of emitting more greenhouse gases.
Despite that, the next WMO leader asserted that it is not too late to turn the tide of the climate crisis. Saulo stated, “We don’t have a plan B.” As of January 1, she will become the first woman to lead the WMO and stated with determination: “Are we going to stand by and wait for a dramatic end or are we going to fight for our children and our future? We are going to fight. I am sure of that, and I will do it.
The Argentinean professor defended the idea that there is no point in waiting for a “miraculous” solution to reverse climate change. According to her, the answer is us, and we must tackle the challenge with passion, love, agreements, and commitment. Saulo emphasized the importance of not seeing this as a movie on the screen but recognizing that we are in the movie and that we can change it. For her, this is our role and our duty.
Saulo was elected by a large majority to succeed Finland’s Petteri Taalas as secretary general of the WMO. She emphasized the need for change and new ideas in the organization and advocated strengthening coordination and innovation. The WMO compiles the work of national meteorological agencies to monitor greenhouse gases, sea level, temperatures, and other climate indicators.
The future secretary general emphasized that her priority will be to apply that work at the local level and cited WMO’s plans to ensure that the entire planet has state-of-the-art early warning systems for weather disasters. He stressed the importance of having global goals and local actions, as implementation is about people and their needs.
Saulo pledged to give a voice to the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather exacerbated by climate change. He expressed concern that some countries responsible for global warming are not really seeing the problem of climate change and promised to do everything possible for the organization to convince them to make real changes and commit.
Although Saulo acknowledged the need for WMO to use more understandable language to convey its message, she remains optimistic because of the presence of young and committed people who want to make a difference. She is convinced that through small actions and working together, positive results can be achieved.