Slovak President Čaputová: Halving emissions must become concrete plan

“Halving emissions and introducing a zero-emission green economy mustn't be only an ambition, but it must become a concrete plan that will guide all our actions,” said Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová visiting ETH Zurich - the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. "You, the next generation, know that we are running out of time. And we, the political leaders, have run out of excuses," Čaputová told students. Both Switzerland and Slovakia, as an EU-member country, aim to be climate neutral by 2050. "Science is clear on this - globally, we are nowhere near that goal," the president said. At the same time, she pointed to the fact that in developed countries, a third of the newborn population lives almost 100 years. According to the president, this opens up new opportunities but also challenges for health and social systems. "Then there is also great potential for computer power and artificial intelligence," she said. Čaputová noted in this vein that the challenge is to integrate new technologies into everyday life in line with ethical principles. Education, wisdom, hard work and determination will be key in tackling the challenges, the president opined, and ETH Zurich is the right place for solving these problems, according to her. "I am proud that many Slovaks call ETH their home," she noted.