“…and this is why I am calling on civil society and young people in particular to campaign for climate action.”
~ Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, 10 September 2018
“What is still missing is the sense of urgency. Let there be no doubt about the urgency of the crisis. Only a significantly higher level of ambition will do…
Leaders must lead.”
Landmark climate change speech by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
“We are careening towards the edge of the abyss. It is not too late to shift course, but every day that passes, it means the world heats up a little more, and the cost of our inaction mounts. Every day we fail to act is a day that we step a little closer towards a fate that none of us wants – a fate that will resonate through generations in the damage done to humankind and life on Earth. Our fate is in our own hands. The world is counting on all of us to rise to the challenge before it’s too late.” (…)
“Climate change is the defining issue of our time – and we are at a defining moment. If we do not change course by 2020, we risk missing the point where we can avoid runaway climate change, with disastrous consequences for people and all the natural systems that sustain us.”
António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, on 10 September 2018
Speaking at UN Headquarters in New York on 10 September 2018, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on governments, businesses, scientists and individuals to step up the action. This time he was not addressing politicians and world leaders – he was calling on the people of the world, the grassroot movements and businesses, all of whom are able to influence our leaders to step up the action.
“The commitments made so far by Parties to the Paris Agreement represent just one-third of what is needed. The mountain in front of us is very high. But it is not insurmountable. We know how to scale it. Put simply, we need to put the brake on deadly greenhouse gas emissions and drive climate action.”
“Scientists have been telling us for decades. Over and over again. Far too many leaders have refused to listen. And far too few have acted with the vision the science demands.”
We live in a weird world and time where some puppy or a baby doing something silly in a video posted on YouTube instantly will get millions of views over a few days, but when the UN General Secretary, kind of the administrative Head of Planet Earth, gives a ‘landmark climate change speech’, which really is significant and important in both its language and its message, then the video recording of his speech only get some 4,500 views over the first two weeks…
What is wrong with us?!
Anyway, so much the more, it’s worth watching and telling your friends and family about it too.
Climate Summit in 2019
Guterres wants to bring climate action to the top of the international agenda and outlined his vision for a new climate summit in 2019, which he will be convening to rally the international community to step up action in key areas inclusive sustainable energy production, economic growth, green investment and better stewardship of natural resources.
“Enormous benefits await humankind if we can rise to the climate challenge,” he said and added that the argument that tackling climate change is expensive and could harm economic growth “is hogwash.” In fact, he said “the opposite is true.”
An existential crossroad
The call for greater ambition on climate action comes amid record temperature rises and extreme weather events across the globe. The last few months alone saw devastating floods in southern India,
