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Four Powerful Climate Change Speeches to Inspire You

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Looking to be inspired to take action on climate change? Watch these four powerful climate change speeches, and get ready to change the world.

Climate change is the most pressing concern facing us and our planet. As such, we need powerful action, and fast, from both global leaders and global corporations, right down to individuals.

I’ve got over 70 climate change and sustainability quotes to motivate people and inspire climate action. But if it is more than quotes you need then watch these four impassioned climate change speeches. These speeches are particularly good if you are looking for even more inspiration to inspire others to take climate action.

The Sustainability Speeches To Motivate You

Here are the speeches to know – I’ve included a video of each speech plus a transcript to make it easy to get all the information you need. Use the quick links to jump to a specific speech or keep scrolling to see all the speeches.

Greta Thunberg’s Climate Change Speech at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit

Leonardo dicaprio’s climate change speech at the 2014 un climate summit, yeb sano’s climate change speech at the united nations climate summit in warsaw, greta thunberg’s speech at houses of parliament.

In September 2019 climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the U.N.’s Climate Action Summit in New York City with this inspiring climate change speech:

Here’s the full transcript of Greta Thunberg’s climate change speech. It begins with Greta’s response to a question about the message she has for world leaders.

My message is that we’ll be watching you.

This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you’re doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe.

The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50% chance of staying below 1.5°C, and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

Fifty per cent may be acceptable to you. But those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO 2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist.

So a 50% risk is simply not acceptable to us — we who have to live with the consequences.

To have a 67% chance of staying below a 1.5°C global temperature rise – the best odds given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the world had 420 gigatons of CO 2 left to emit back on January 1st, 2018. Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatons.

How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just ‘business as usual’ and some technical solutions? With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO 2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8 and a half years.

There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.

We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.

Leonardo DiCaprio gave an impassioned climate change speech at the 2014 UN Climate Summit. Watch it now:

Here’s a transcript of Leonardo DiCaprio’s climate change speech in case you’re looking to quote any part of it.

Thank you, Mr Secretary General, your excellencies, ladies and gentleman, and distinguished guests. I’m honoured to be here today, I stand before you not as an expert but as a concerned citizen. One of the 400,000 people who marched in the streets of New York on Sunday, and the billions of others around the world who want to solve our climate crisis.

As an actor, I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters often solving fictitious problems.

I believe humankind has looked at climate change in that same way. As if it were fiction, happening to someone else’s planet, as if pretending that climate change wasn’t real would somehow make it go away.

But I think we know better than that. Every week, we’re seeing new and undeniable climate events, evidence that accelerated climate change is here now .  We know that droughts are intensifying.  Our oceans are warming and acidifying, with methane plumes rising up from beneath the ocean floor. We are seeing extreme weather events, increased temperatures, and the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets melting at unprecedented rates, decades ahead of scientific projections.

None of this is rhetoric, and none of it is hysteria. It is fact. The scientific community knows it. Industry and governments know it. Even the United States military knows it. The chief of the US Navy’s Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, recently said that climate change is our single greatest security threat.

My friends, this body – perhaps more than any other gathering in human history – now faces that difficult task. You can make history or be vilified by it.

To be clear, this is not about just telling people to change their light bulbs or to buy a hybrid car. This disaster has grown BEYOND the choices that individuals make. This is now about our industries, and governments around the world taking decisive, large-scale action.

I am not a scientist, but I don’t need to be. Because the world’s scientific community has spoken, and they have given us our prognosis. If we do not act together, we will surely perish.

Now is our moment for action.

We need to put a price tag on carbon emissions and eliminate government subsidies for coal, gas, and oil companies. We need to end the free ride that industrial polluters have been given in the name of a free-market economy. They don’t deserve our tax dollars, they deserve our scrutiny. For the economy itself will die if our ecosystems collapse.

The good news is that renewable energy is not only achievable but good economic policy. New research shows that by 2050 clean, renewable energy could supply 100% of the world’s energy needs using existing technologies, and it would create millions of jobs.

This is not a partisan debate; it is a human one. Clean air and water, and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation – if, admittedly, a daunting one.

We only get one planet. Humankind must become accountable on a massive scale for the wanton destruction of our collective home. Protecting our future on this planet depends on the conscious evolution of our species.

This is the most urgent of times, and the most urgent of messages.

Honoured delegates, leaders of the world, I pretend for a living. But you do not. The people made their voices heard on Sunday around the world and the momentum will not stop. And now it’s YOUR turn, the time to answer the greatest challenge of our existence on this planet is now.

I beg you to face it with courage. And honesty. Thank you.

The Philippines’ lead negotiator  Yeb Sano  addressed the opening session of the UN climate summit in Warsaw in November 2013. In this emotional and powerful climate change speech he called for urgent action to prevent a repeat of the devastating storm that hit parts of the Philippines:

Transcript of Yeb’s Climate Change Speech

Here’s a transcript of Yeb’s climate change speech:

Mr President, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the resilient people of the Republic of the Philippines.

At the onset, allow me to fully associate my delegation with the statement made by the distinguished Ambassador of the Republic of Fiji, on behalf of G77 and China as well as the statement made by Nicaragua on behalf of the Like-Minded Developing Countries.

First and foremost, the people of the Philippines, and our delegation here for the United Nations Climate Change Convention’s 19 th  Conference of the Parties here in Warsaw, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your expression of sympathy to my country in the face of this national difficulty.

In the midst of this tragedy, the delegation of the Philippines is comforted by the warm hospitality of Poland, with your people offering us warm smiles everywhere we go. Hotel staff and people on the streets, volunteers and personnel within the National Stadium have warmly offered us kind words of sympathy. So, thank you Poland.

The arrangements you have made for this COP is also most excellent and we highly appreciate the tremendous effort you have put into the preparations for this important gathering.

We also thank all of you, friends and colleagues in this hall and from all corners of the world as you stand beside us in this difficult time.

I thank all countries and governments who have extended your solidarity and for offering assistance to the Philippines.

I thank the youth present here and the billions of young people around the world who stand steadfastly behind my delegation and who are watching us shape their future.

I thank civil society, both who are working on the ground as we race against time in the hardest-hit areas, and those who are here in Warsaw prodding us to have a sense of urgency and ambition.

We are deeply moved by this manifestation of human solidarity. This outpouring of support proves to us that as a human race, we can unite; that as a species, we care.

It was barely 11 months ago in Doha when my delegation appealed to the world… to open our eyes to the stark reality that we face… as then we confronted a catastrophic storm that resulted in the costliest disaster in Philippine history.

Less than a year hence, we cannot imagine that a disaster much bigger would come. With an apparent cruel twist of fate, my country is being tested by this hellstorm called Super Typhoon Haiyan, which has been described by experts as the strongest typhoon that has ever made landfall in the course of recorded human history.

It was so strong that if there was a Category 6, it would have fallen squarely in that box. Up to this hour, we remain uncertain as to the full extent of the devastation, as information trickles in an agonisingly slow manner because electricity lines and communication lines have been cut off and may take a while before these are restored.

The initial assessment shows that Haiyan left a wake of massive devastation that is unprecedented, unthinkable, and horrific, affecting 2/3 of the Philippines, with about half a million people now rendered homeless, and with scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of a tsunami, with a vast wasteland of mud and debris and dead bodies.

According to satellite estimates, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also estimated that Haiyan achieved a minimum pressure between around 860 mbar (hPa; 25.34 inHg) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated Haiyan to have attained one-minute sustained winds of 315 km/h (195 mph) and gusts up to 378 km/h (235 mph) making it the strongest typhoon in modern recorded history.

Despite the massive efforts that my country had exerted in preparing for the onslaught of this monster of a storm, it was just a force too powerful, and even as a nation familiar with storms, Super Typhoon Haiyan was nothing we have ever experienced before, or perhaps nothing that any country has every experienced before.

The picture in the aftermath is ever so slowly coming into clearer focus. The devastation is colossal. And as if this is not enough, another storm is brewing again in the warm waters of the western Pacific. I shudder at the thought of another typhoon hitting the same places where people have not yet even managed to begin standing up.

To anyone who continues to deny the reality that is climate change, I dare you to get off your ivory tower and away from the comfort of your armchair.

I dare you to go to the islands of the Pacific, the islands of the Caribbean and the islands of the Indian Ocean and see the impacts of rising sea levels; to the mountainous regions of the Himalayas and the Andes to see communities confronting glacial floods, to the Arctic where communities grapple with the fast dwindling polar ice caps, to the large deltas of the Mekong, the Ganges, the Amazon, and the Nile where lives and livelihoods are drowned, to the hills of Central America that confront similar monstrous hurricanes, to the vast savannahs of Africa where climate change has likewise become a matter of life and death as food and water becomes scarce.

Not to forget the massive hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern seaboard of North America. And if that is not enough, you may want to pay a visit to the Philippines right now.

The science has given us a picture that has become much more in focus. The IPCC report on climate change and extreme events underscored the risks associated with changes in the patterns as well as the frequency of extreme weather events.

Science tells us that simply, climate change will mean more intense tropical storms. As the Earth warms up, that would include the oceans. The energy that is stored in the waters off the Philippines will increase the intensity of typhoons and the trend we now see is that more destructive storms will be the new norm.

This will have profound implications on many of our communities, especially who struggle against the twin challenges of the development crisis and the climate change crisis. Typhoons such as Yolanda (Haiyan) and its impacts represent a sobering reminder to the international community that we cannot afford to procrastinate on climate action. Warsaw must deliver on enhancing ambition and should muster the political will to address climate change.

In Doha, we asked, “If not us then who? If not now, then when? If not here, then where?” (borrowed from Philippine student leader Ditto Sarmiento during Martial Law). It may have fell on deaf ears. But here in Warsaw, we may very well ask these same forthright questions. “If not us, then who? If not now, then when? If not here in Warsaw, where?”

What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness. The climate crisis is madness.

We can stop this madness. Right here in Warsaw.

It is the 19 th  COP, but we might as well stop counting because my country refuses to accept that a COP30 or a COP40 will be needed to solve climate change.

And because it seems that despite the significant gains we have had since the UNFCCC was born, 20 years hence we continue to fail in fulfilling the ultimate objective of the Convention. 

Now, we find ourselves in a situation where we have to ask ourselves – can we ever attain the objective set out in Article 2 – which is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system? By failing to meet the objective of the Convention, we may have ratified the doom of vulnerable countries.

And if we have failed to meet the objective of the Convention, we have to confront the issue of loss and damage.

Loss and damage from climate change is a reality today across the world. Developed country emissions reduction targets are dangerously low and must be raised immediately. But even if they were in line with the demand of reducing 40-50% below 1990 levels, we would still have locked-in climate change and would still need to address the issue of loss and damage.

We find ourselves at a critical juncture and the situation is such that even the most ambitious emissions reductions by developed countries, who should have been taking the lead in combatting climate change in the past two decades, will not be enough to avert the crisis.

It is now too late, too late to talk about the world being able to rely on Annex I countries to solve the climate crisis. We have entered a new era that demands global solidarity in order to fight climate change and ensure that the pursuit of sustainable human development remains at the fore of the global community’s efforts. This is why means of implementation for developing countries is ever more crucial.

It was the Secretary-general of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 1992, Maurice Strong who said that “History reminds us that what is not possible today, may be inevitable tomorrow.”

We cannot sit and stay helpless staring at this international climate stalemate. It is now time to take action. We need an emergency climate pathway.

I speak for my delegation. But more than that, I speak for the countless people who will no longer be able to speak for themselves after perishing from the storm. I also speak for those who have been orphaned by this tragedy. I also speak for the people now racing against time to save survivors and alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the disaster.

We can take drastic action now to ensure that we prevent a future where super typhoons are a way of life. Because we refuse, as a nation, to accept a future where super typhoons like Haiyan become a fact of life. We refuse to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, having to count our dead, become a way of life. We simply refuse to.

We must stop calling events like these as natural disasters. It is not natural when people continue to struggle to eradicate poverty and pursue development and get battered by the onslaught of a monster storm now considered as the strongest storm ever to hit land. It is not natural when science already tells us that global warming will induce more intense storms. It is not natural when the human species has already profoundly changed the climate.

Disasters are never natural. They are the intersection of factors other than physical. They are the accumulation of the constant breach of economic, social, and environmental thresholds.

Most of the time disasters are a result of inequity and the poorest people of the world are at greatest risk because of their vulnerability and decades of maldevelopment, which I must assert is connected to the kind of pursuit of economic growth that dominates the world. The same kind of pursuit of so-called economic growth and unsustainable consumption that has altered the climate system.

Now, if you will allow me, to speak on a more personal note.

Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in my family’s hometown and the devastation is staggering. I struggle to find words even for the images that we see from the news coverage. I struggle to find words to describe how I feel about the losses and damages we have suffered from this cataclysm.

Up to this hour, I agonize while waiting for word as to the fate of my very own relatives. What gives me renewed strength and great relief was when my brother succeeded in communicating with us that he has survived the onslaught. In the last two days, he has been gathering bodies of the dead with his own two hands. He is hungry and weary as food supplies find it difficult to arrive in the hardest-hit areas.

We call on this COP to pursue work until the most meaningful outcome is in sight. Until concrete pledges have been made to ensure mobilisation of resources for the Green Climate Fund. Until the promise of the establishment of a loss and damage mechanism has been fulfilled. Until there is assurance on finance for adaptation. Until concrete pathways for reaching the committed 100 billion dollars have been made. Until we see real ambition on stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. We must put the money where our mouths are.

This process under the UNFCCC has been called many names. It has been called a farce. It has been called an annual carbon-intensive gathering of useless frequent flyers. It has been called many names. But it has also been called “The Project To Save The Planet”. It has been called “Saving Tomorrow Today”. We can fix this. We can stop this madness. Right now. Right here, in the middle of this football field.

I call on you to lead us. And let Poland be forever known as the place we truly cared to stop this madness. Can humanity rise to the occasion? I still believe we can.

Finally, in April 2019, Greta spoke at the Houses of Parliament in the UK. Here she gave this powerful climate change speech to the UK’s political leaders:

Transcript of Greta’s Climate Change Speech

Here is the full transcript of Greta’s climate change speech:

My name is Greta Thunberg. I am 16 years old. I come from Sweden. And I speak on behalf of future generations.

I know many of you don’t want to listen to us – you say we are just children. But we’re only repeating the message of the united climate science.

Many of you appear concerned that we are wasting valuable lesson time, but I assure you we will go back to school the moment you start listening to science and give us a future. Is that really too much to ask?

In the year 2030, I will be 26 years old. My little sister Beata will be 23. Just like many of your own children or grandchildren. That is a great age, we have been told. When you have all of your life ahead of you. But I am not so sure it will be that great for us.

I was fortunate to be born in a time and place where everyone told us to dream big. I could become whatever I wanted to. I could live wherever I wanted to. People like me had everything we needed and more. Things our grandparents could not even dream of. We had everything we could ever wish for and yet now we may have nothing.

Now we probably don’t even have a future anymore.

Because that future was sold so that a small number of people could make unimaginable amounts of money. It was stolen from us every time you said that the sky was the limit and that you only live once.

You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to. And the saddest thing is that most children are not even aware of the fate that awaits us. We will not understand it until it’s too late. And yet we are the lucky ones. Those who will be affected the hardest are already suffering the consequences. But their voices are not heard.

Is my microphone on? Can you hear me?

Around the year 2030, 10 years 252 days and 10 hours away from now, we will be in a position where we set off an irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, that will most likely lead to the end of our civilisation as we know it. That is unless, in that time, permanent and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society have taken place, including a reduction of CO 2 emissions by at least 50%.

And please note that these calculations are depending on inventions that have not yet been invented at scale, inventions that are supposed to clear the atmosphere of astronomical amounts of carbon dioxide.

Furthermore, these calculations do not include unforeseen tipping points and feedback loops like the extremely powerful methane gas escaping from rapidly thawing arctic permafrost.

Nor do these scientific calculations include already locked-in warming hidden by toxic air pollution. Nor the aspect of equity – or climate justice – clearly stated throughout the Paris Agreement, which is absolutely necessary to make it work on a global scale.

We must also bear in mind that these are just calculations. Estimations. That means that these “points of no return” may occur a bit sooner or later than 2030. No one can know for sure. We can, however, be certain that they will occur approximately in these timeframes because these calculations are not opinions or wild guesses.

These projections are backed up by scientific facts, concluded by all nations through the IPCC. Nearly every single major national scientific body around the world unreservedly supports the work and findings of the IPCC.

Did you hear what I just said? Is my English OK? Is the microphone on? Because I’m beginning to wonder.

During the last six months, I have travelled around Europe for hundreds of hours in trains, electric cars, and buses, repeating these life-changing words over and over again. But no one seems to be talking about it, and nothing has changed. In fact, the emissions are still rising.

When I have been travelling around to speak in different countries, I am always offered help to write about the specific climate policies in specific countries. But that is not really necessary. Because the basic problem is the same everywhere. And the basic problem is that basically nothing is being done to halt – or even slow – climate and ecological breakdown, despite all the beautiful words and promises.

The UK is, however, very special. Not only for its mind-blowing historical carbon debt but also for its current, very creative, carbon accounting.

Since 1990 the UK has achieved a 37% reduction of its territorial CO 2 emissions, according to the Global Carbon Project. And that does sound very impressive. But these numbers do not include emissions from aviation, shipping, and those associated with imports and exports. If these numbers are included the reduction is around 10% since 1990 – or an average of 0.4% a year, according to Tyndall Manchester. And the main reason for this reduction is not a consequence of climate policies, but rather a 2001 EU directive on air quality that essentially forced the UK to close down its very old and extremely dirty coal power plants and replace them with less dirty gas power stations. And switching from one disastrous energy source to a slightly less disastrous one will of course result in a lowering of emissions.

But perhaps the most dangerous misconception about the climate crisis is that we have to “lower” our emissions. Because that is far from enough.

Our emissions have to stop if we are to stay below 1.5-2 ° C of warming. The “lowering of emissions” is of course necessary but it is only the beginning of a fast process that must lead to a stop within a couple of decades or less. And by “stop” I mean net-zero – and then quickly on to negative figures. That rules out most of today’s politics.

The fact that we are speaking of “lowering” instead of “stopping” emissions is perhaps the greatest force behind the continuing business as usual. The UK’s active current support of new exploitation of fossil fuels – for example, the UK shale gas fracking industry, the expansion of its North Sea oil and gas fields, the expansion of airports as well as the planning permission for a brand new coal mine – is beyond absurd.

This ongoing irresponsible behaviour will no doubt be remembered in history as one of the greatest failures of humankind.

People always tell me and the other millions of school strikers that we should be proud of ourselves for what we have accomplished. But the only thing that we need to look at is the emission curve. And I’m sorry, but it’s still rising. That curve is the only thing we should look at.

Every time we make a decision we should ask ourselves; how will this decision affect that curve? We should no longer measure our wealth and success in the graph that shows economic growth, but in the curve that shows the emissions of greenhouse gases. We should no longer only ask: “Have we got enough money to go through with this?” but also: “Have we got enough of the carbon budget to spare to go through with this?” That should and must become the centre of our new currency.

Many people say that we don’t have any solutions to the climate crisis. And they are right. Because how could we? How do you “solve” the greatest crisis that humanity has ever faced? How do you “solve” a war? How do you “solve” going to the moon for the first time? How do you “solve” inventing new inventions?

The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do. We must stop the emissions of greenhouse gases. The hardest because our current economics are still totally dependent on burning fossil fuels, and thereby destroying ecosystems in order to create everlasting economic growth.

“So, exactly how do we solve that?” you ask us – the schoolchildren striking for the climate.

And we say: “No one knows for sure. But we have to stop burning fossil fuels and restore nature and many other things that we may not have quite figured out yet.”

Then you say: “That’s not an answer!”

So we say: “We have to start treating the crisis like a crisis – and act even if we don’t have all the solutions.”

“That’s still not an answer,” you say.

Then we start talking about circular economy and rewilding nature and the need for a just transition. Then you don’t understand what we are talking about.

We say that all those solutions needed are not known to anyone and therefore we must unite behind the science and find them together along the way. But you do not listen to that. Because those answers are for solving a crisis that most of you don’t even fully understand. Or don’t want to understand.

You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before. Like now. And those answers don’t exist anymore. Because you did not act in time.

Avoiding climate breakdown will require cathedral thinking. We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.

Sometimes we just simply have to find a way. The moment we decide to fulfil something, we can do anything. And I’m sure that the moment we start behaving as if we were in an emergency, we can avoid climate and ecological catastrophe. Humans are very adaptable: we can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses.

We children are not sacrificing our education and our childhood for you to tell us what you consider is politically possible in the society that you have created. We have not taken to the streets for you to take selfies with us, and tell us that you really admire what we do.

We children are doing this to wake the adults up. We children are doing this for you to put your differences aside and start acting as you would in a crisis. We children are doing this because we want our hopes and dreams back.

I hope my microphone was on. I hope you could all hear me.

Hopefully, these climate change speeches will encourage you to take action in your local community. If you need more inspiration then head to my post on the best TED Talks on climate change , my guide to the best YouTube videos on climate change , and the sustainability poems to inspire you.

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Wendy Graham is a sustainability expert and the founder of Moral Fibres, where's she's written hundreds of articles on since starting the site in 2013. She's dedicated to bringing you sustainability advice you can trust.

Wendy holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Geography and an MSc (with Distinction) in Environmental Sustainability - specialising in environmental education.

As well as this, Wendy brings 17 years of professional experience working in the sustainability sector to the blog.

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Read climate activist Greta Thunberg’s speech to the UN

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg chastised world leaders Monday for failing younger generations by not taking sufficient steps to stop climate change.

“You have stolen my childhood and my dreams with your empty words,” Thunberg said at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York.

Thunberg traveled to the U.S. by sailboat last month so she could appear at the summit. She and other youth activists led international climate strikes on Friday in an attempt to garner awareness ahead of the UN’s meeting of political and business leaders.

Read Greta Thunberg’s speech below:

This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, and yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering, people are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?

For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you’re doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight? You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency, but no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil and that I refuse to believe.

The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in ten years only gives us a 50 percent chance of staying below 1.5 degrees and the risk of setting up irreversible chain reactions beyond human control. Fifty percent may be acceptable to you, but those numbers do not include tipping points most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution, or the aspects of equity and climate justice.

They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist. So a 50 percent risk is simply not acceptable to us. We who have to live with the consequences. To have a 67 percent chance of staying below the 1.5 degree of temperature rise, the best odds given by the IPCC, the world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on January 1, 2018.

Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatons. How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just business as usual and some technical solutions? With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO2 that entire budget will be gone is less than 8 and a half years. There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today because these numbers are too uncomfortable and you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

You are failing us, but young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this, right here, right now, is where we draw the line. The world is waking up, and change is coming whether you like it or not.

Gretchen Frazee is a Senior Coordinating Broadcast Producer for the PBS NewsHour.

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Climate Action: It’s time to make peace with nature, UN chief urges

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The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has described the fight against the climate crisis as the top priority for the 21st Century, in a passionate, uncompromising speech delivered on Wednesday at Columbia University in New York.

The landmark address marks the beginning of a month of UN-led climate action, which includes the release of major reports on the global climate and fossil fuel production, culminating in a climate summit on 12 December, the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Nature always strikes back

Mr. Guterres began with a litany of the many ways in which nature is reacting, with “growing force and fury”, to humanity’s mishandling of the environment, which has seen a collapse in biodiversity, spreading deserts, and oceans reaching record temperatures.

The link between COVID-19 and man-made climate change was also made plain by the UN chief, who noted that the continued encroachment of people and livestock into animal habitats, risks exposing us to more deadly diseases.

And, whilst the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic has temporarily slowed emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, levels of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane are still rising, with the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere at a record high. Despite this worrying trend, fossil fuel production – responsible for a significant proportion of greenhouse gases – is predicted to continue on an upward path.

‘Time to flick the green switch’

The appropriate global response, said the Secretary-General, is a transformation of the world economy, flicking the “green switch” and building a sustainable system driven by renewable energy, green jobs and a resilient future.

One way to achieve this vision, is by achieving net zero emissions (read our feature story on net zero for a full explanation, and why it is so important). There are encouraging signs on this front, with several developed countries, including the UK, Japan and China, committing to the goal over the next few decades.

Mr. Guterres called on all countries, cities and businesses to target 2050 as the date by which they achieve carbon neutrality – to at least halt national increases in emissions - and for all individuals to do their part.

With the cost of renewable energy continuing to fall, this transition makes economic sense, and will lead to a net creation of 18 million jobs over the next 10 years. Nevertheless, the UN chief pointed out, the G20, the world’s largest economies, are planning to spend 50 per cent more on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.

Put a price on carbon

For years, many climate experts and activists have called for the cost of carbon-based pollution to be factored into the price of fossil fuels, a step that Mr. Guterres said would provide certainty and confidence for the private and financial sectors.

Companies, he declared, need to adjust their business models, ensuring that finance is directed to the green economy, and pension funds, which manage some $32 trillion in assets, need to step and invest in carbon-free portfolios.

Far more money, continued the Secretary-General, needs to be invested in adapting to the changing climate, which is hindering the UN’s work on disaster risk reduction. The international community, he said, has “both a moral imperative and a clear economic case, for supporting developing countries to adapt and build resilience to current and future climate impacts”.

Everything is interlinked

The COVID-19 pandemic put paid to many plans, including the UN’s ambitious plan to make 2020 the “super year” for buttressing the natural world. That ambition has now been shifted to 2021, and will involve a number of major climate-related international commitments.

These include the development of a plan to halt the biodiversity crisis; an Oceans Conference to protect marine environments; a global sustainable transport conference; and the first Food Systems Summit, aimed at transforming global food production and consumption.

Mr. Guterres ended his speech on a note of hope, amid the prospect of a new, more sustainable world in which mindsets are shifting, to take into account the importance of reducing each individual’s carbon footprint.

Far from looking to return to “normal”, a world of inequality, injustice and “heedless dominion over the Earth”, the next step, said the Secretary-General, should be towards a safer, more sustainable and equitable path, and for mankind to rethink our relationship with the natural world – and with each other.

You can read the full speech here .

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General December 2, 2020

• climate change
• climate action

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden on Actions to Tackle the Climate   Crisis

Brayton Point Power Station Somerset, Massachusetts

2:43 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  And thank you for your patience.  You’ve been sitting out here.  Appreciate — please, have a seat, if you have one.

Well, hello, Massachusetts.  (Applause.)  It’s an honor to be with your outstanding members of Congress today: Senator Ed Markey.  Ed?  Where’s — there you go.  (Applause.)  Senator Elizabeth Warren.  (Applause.)  Congressman Auchincloss — -oss.  Where is she?  There you go, Jake.  Bill Keating — Congressman.  (Applause.) 

And your great former members and one of my dearest friends, John Kerry, who’s doing a great job leading our international — (applause) — Special Presidential Envoy on Climate, traveling the world and talking with an awful lot of people he’s talking into moving more than they’ve been doing. 

And another great Massachusetts nata- — native, Gina McCarthy.  Gina?  (Applause.)  There she is.  My National Climate Advisor is leading our climate efforts here at home.

It’s an honor to be joined by your neighbor by — your neighbor from Rhode Island.  He’s not a bad guy at all.  (Laughter.)  I live in his house.  Sheldon Whitehouse — a great champion — (applause) — a great champion of the environment.  And he’d been banging away at it.

I come here today with a message: As President, I have a responsibility to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger.  And that’s what climate change is about.  It is literally, not figuratively, a clear and present danger.

The health of our citizens and our communities is literally at stake.

The U.N.’s leading international climate scientists called the latest climate report nothing less than, quote, “code red for humanity.”  Let me say it again: “Code red for humanity.”  It’s not a group of political official — elected officials.  These are the scientists.

We see here in America, in red states and blue states, extreme weather events costing $145 billion — $145 billion in damages just last year — more powerful and destructive hurricanes and tornadoes. 

I’ve flown over the vast majority of them out west and down in Louisiana, all across America.  It’s a — it’s amazing to see. 

Ravaging hundred-year-old droughts occurring every few years instead of every hundred years.  Wildfires out west that have burned and destroyed more than 5 million acres — everything in its path.  That is more land than the entire state of New Jersey, from New York down to the tip of Delaware.  It’s amazing.  Five million acres.

Our national security is at stake as well.  Extreme weather is already damaging our military installations here in the States.  And our economy is at risk.  So we have to act.

Extreme weather disrupts supply chains, causing delays and shortages for consumers and businesses.

Climate change is literally an existential threat to our nation and to the world. 

So my message today is this: Since Congress is not acting as it should — and these guys here are, but we’re not getting many Republican votes — this is an emergency.  An emergency.  And I will — I will look at it that way.

I said last week and I’ll say it again loud and clear: As President, I’ll use my executive powers to combat climate — the climate crisis in the absence of congressional actions, notwithstanding their incredible action.  (Applause.) 

In the coming days, my administration will announce the executive actions we have developed to combat this emergency.  We need to act. 

But just take a look around: Right now, 100 million Americans are under heat alert — 100 million Americans.  Ninety communities across America set records for high temperatures just this year, including here in New England as we speak.

And, by the way, records have been set in the Arctic and the Antarctic, with temperatures that are just unbelievable, melting the permafrost.  And it’s astounding the damage that’s being done.

And this crisis impacts every aspect of our everyday life.  That’s why today I’m making the largest investment ever — $2.3 billion — to help communities across the country build infrastructure that is designed to withstand the full range of disasters we’ve been seeing up to today -– extreme heat, drought, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes.

Right now, there are millions of people suffering from extreme heat at home.  So my team is also working with the states to deploy $385 million right now.

For the first time, states will be able to use federal funds to pay for air conditioners in homes, set up community cooling centers in schools where people can get through these extreme heat crises.  And I mean people — and crises that are 100 to 117 degrees.

An Infrastructure Law that your members of Congress have delivered includes $3.1 billion to weatherize homes and make them more energy efficient, which will lower energy cost while keeping America cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and not using too much energy.

And my Department of Labor, led by a guy named Marty Walsh — (said in Boston accent) — he talks funny, but he’s a hell of a guy.  (Applause.)  But all kidding aside, Marty was a great mayor, and I know — I know he knows how to get a job done. 

And he’s doing two things for me:

First of all, as Secretary of Labor, he’s developing the first-ever workplace standards for extreme heat, saying, under these cond- — under these conditions, if it hits this pr- — you cannot do the following — you cannot ask people to do a certain thing.

Second, he’s sending folks out from the Labor Department to make sure we hold workplaces and — to those standards that are being set.  They’ve already completed over 500 heat-related inspections of workplaces across 43 states.  At the end of the day, it’s going to save lives.

Now, let me tell you why we’re here at Brayton Point.  Five years ago, this towering power plant that once stood with cooling towers 500 feet high closed down.  The coal plant at Brayton Point was the largest of its kind in New England — 1,500 megawatts of power, enough to power one in five Massachusetts homes and businesses.

For over 50 years, this plant supported this region’s economy through their electrici- — the electricity they supplied, the good jobs they provided, and the local taxes they paid.

But the plant, like many others around the country, had another legacy: one of toxins, smog, greenhouse gas emissions, the kind of pollution that contributed to the climate emergency we now face today.

Gina McCarthy, a former regulator in Massachusetts, was telling me on the way up how folks used to get a rag out and wipe the gunk off of their car’s windshields in the morning just to be able to drive — not very much unlike where I grew up in a place called Claymont, Delaware — which has more oil refineries than Houston, Texas, had in its region — just across the line in Pennsylvania.  And all the prevailing winds were our way. I just lived up the road.  I just — in an apartment complex when we moved to Delaware.  And just up the road was a little school I went to, Holy Rosary grade school.  And because it was a four-lane highway that was accessible, my mother drove us and — rather than us be able to walk. And guess what?  The first frost, you knew what was happening.  You had to put on your windshield wipers to get, literally, the oil slick off the window.  That’s why I and so damn many other people I grew up [with] have cancer and why can- — for the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation.

But that’s the past, and we’re going to get — we’re going to build a different future with one — one with clean energy, good-paying jobs.

Just 15 years ago, America generated more than half its electricity from coal — coal-fired plants.  Today, that’s down to 20 percent because there’s a big transition happening.

Many of these fossil fuel plants are becoming sites for new clean energy construction.  Others are switching to new, clean technologies.

Look at Brayton Point.  Today, Brayton is one of the frontiers — on the frontier of clean energy in America.  On this site, they’ll manufacture four hun- — 248 miles of high-tech, heavy-duty cables.  Those specialized, subsea cables are necessary to tie offshore wind farms to the existing grid.

Manufacturing these cables will mean good-paying jobs for 250 workers — as many workers as the old plant — power plant had at its peak. 

And the port — (applause) — the port here, 34 feet deep, was used to carry coal into the power plant.  Now we’re going to use that same port to carry components of — for wind power into the sea.

The converter station here and the substation nearby are the assets that move energy across the power lines.

They’ll now move clean electricity generated offshore by the wind — (applause) — enough power to power hundreds of thousands of homes onto the grid — putting old assets to work delivering clean energy.  This didn’t happen by accident.  It happened because we believed and invested in America’s innovation and ingenuity.

One of the companies investing in the factory here joined me at the White House this month.  Vineyard Winds, whose CEO told me about the ground-breaking project labor agreements they’ve negotiated, would create good-paying union jobs.  (Applause.)

And I want to compliment Congressman Bill Keating for his work in this area.

I’m also proud to point out that my administration approved the first commercial project for offshore wind in America, which is being constructed by Vineyard Winds.

Folks, elsewhere in the country, we are pr- — we are propelling retrofits and ensuring that even where fossil fuel plant retires, they still have a role in powering the future.

In Illinois, for example, the state has launched a broad effort to invest in converting old power plants to solar farms, led by Governor Pritzker.

In California, the IBEW members have helped turn a former oil plant into the world’s largest battery storage facility — the world’s largest facility.

In Wyoming, innovators are chosen to — a retiring plant as the next site for the next-generation nuclear plant.

And my administr- — my administration is a partner in that progress, driving federal resources and funding to the communities that have powered this country for generations.  And that’s why they need to be taken care of as well.

I want to thank Cecil Roberts, a friend and President of United Mine Workers of America, and so many other labor leaders who worked with — worked with on these initiatives.

Since I took office, we’ve invested more than $4 billion in federal funding to the 25 hardest-hit coal communities in the country, from West Virginia, to Kentucky, to Wyoming, to New Mexico.

Through the Infrastructure Law, we’re investing in clean hydrogen, nuclear, and carbon capture with the largest grid investment in American history.

We’ve secured $16 billion to clean up abandoned mines and wells, protecting thousands of communities from toxins and waste, particularly methane.  And we still — and we’re going to seal leaking methane pollution — an incredibly power[ful] greenhouse gas that’s 40 times more dangerous to the environment than carbon dioxide.  (Applause.)

And, folks, with American leadership back on climate, I was able to bring more world leaders together than — we got 100 nations together to agree that — at the major conference in Glasgow, England — I mean, Scotland — to change the emissions policies we had.

We’ve made real progress, but there is an enormous task ahead.  We have to keep retaining and recruiting building trades and union electricians for jobs in wind, solar, hydrogen, nuclear, creating even more and better jobs.

We have to revitalize communities, especially those fence-line communities that are smothered by the legacy of pollution.

We have to outcompete China and in the world, and make these technologies here in the United States — not have to import them.

Folks, when I think about climate change — and I’ve been saying this for three years — I think jobs.  Climate change, I think jobs.  (Applause.)

Almost 100 wind turbines going up off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island with ground broken and work underway.

Jobs manufacturing 2,500-ton steel foundations that anchor these offshore wind farms to the sea’s floor.  Jobs manufacturing a Jones Act vessel in Texas to service these offshore wind farms.

We’re going to make sure that the ocean is open for the clean energy of our future, and everything we can do — give a green light to wind power on the Atlantic coast, where my predecessor’s actions only created confusion.

And today we begin the process to develop wind power in the Gulf of Mexico as well for the first time.  A real opportunity to power millions of additional homes from wind.

Let’s clear the way — let’s clear the way for clean energy and connect these projects to the grid.

I’ve directed my administration to clear every federal hurdle and streamline federal permitting that brings these clean energy projects online right now and right away.  And some of you have already come up and talked to me about that.  (Applause.)  

And while so many governors and mayors have been strong partners in this fight to tackle climate change, we need all governors and mayors.  We need public utility commissioners and state agency heads.  We need electric utilities and developers to stand up and be part of the solution.  Don’t be a road block.  (Applause.)

You all have a duty right now to our economy, to our competitiveness in the world, to the young people in this nation, and to future generations — and that sounds like hyperbole but it’s not; it’s real — to act boldly on climate.

And so does Congress, which — notwithstanding the leadership of the men and women that are here today — has failed in this duty.  Not a single Republican in Congress stepped up to support my climate plan.  Not one. 

So, let me be clear: Climate change is an emergency. 

And in the coming weeks, I’m going to use the power I have as President to turn these words into formal, official government actions through the appropriate proclamations, executive orders, and regulatory power that a President possesses.  (Applause.) 

And when it comes to fighting the climate change — climate change, I will not take no for an answer.  I will do everything in my power to clean our air and water, protect our people’s health, to win the clean energy future. 

This, again, sounds like hyperbole, but our children and grandchildren are counting on us.  Not a joke.  Not a joke.  

If we don’t keep it below 1.5 degrees Centigrade, we lose it all.  We don’t get to turn it around.  And the world is counting on us.  And this is the United States of America.  When we put our hearts and minds to it, there’s not a single thing beyond our capacity — I mean it — when we act together. 

And of all things we should be acting together on, it’s climate.  It’s climate.

And, by the way, my dear mother — God rest her soul — used to say, “Joey, out of everything bad, something good will come if you look hard enough.”  Look what’s happening.  We’re going to be able to create as many or more good-paying jobs.  We’re going to make environments where people live safer.  We’re going to make the clean — the air safer.  I really mean it.  We have an opportunity here. 

I’ll bet you when you see what’s happened here in this cable construction here — manufacturing — and you go back and ask all the people who grew up in this beautiful place what they’d rather have: Do they want the plant back with everything it had, or what you’re going to have?  I will be dumbfounded if you find anybody, other than for pure sentimental reasons, saying, “I’d rather have the coal plant.” 

I’ll end by telling you another quick story.  When we moved from Scranton — when coal died in Scranton, everything died in Scranton.  And my dad wasn’t a coal miner.  My — my great — my great-grandfather was a mining engineer.  But my dad was in sales, and there was no work.  So we left to go down to Delaware, where I told you where those oil plants were. 

But I remember driving home — when you take the trolley in Scranton, going out North Washington and Adams Avenues.  Within 15 blocks — we didn’t live in the neighborhood — among the most prestigious neighborhood in the region, in the — in the town where the Scrantons and other good, decent people lived, there was a pla- — you’d go by a wall that — my recollection is it was somewhere between 15 and 18 feet tall.  And it went for the — essentially, a city block. 

And you could see the coal piled up to the very top of the wall from inside.  It was a coal-fired plant.  A coal-fired plant.  And all of that — all of the negative impacts of breathing that coal, the dust were effecting everybody.  But at the time, people didn’t know it and there wasn’t any alternative.

Folks, we have no excuse now.  We know it.  There are answers for it.  We can make things better in terms of jobs.  We can make things better in terms of the environment.  We can make things better for families overall.  So I’m looking forward to this movement. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  May God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

3:02 P.M. EDT

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• Environment

‘You Have Stolen My Dreams and My Childhood’: Greta Thunberg Gives Powerful Speech at UN Climate Summit

I n an emotional speech at the United Nations during the Climate Action Summit on Monday, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg appealed to world leaders about the grave need to stop the effects of climate change.

“You all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?” she said. “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, and yet, I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.”

Thunberg grew tearful, as she continued to condemn what she sees as the lack of action on part of leaders around the world to halt climate change. “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?”

The 2019 Climate Action Summit kicked off at the UN on Monday, where world leaders gathered to discuss serious strategies to mitigate climate change. Representatives of participating nations were told by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to come up with “concrete, realistic plans” to further their commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and get to net zero emissions by 2050.

Thunberg cited more than 30 years of scientific evidence showing the consequences of a perpetually warming globe and delivered searing criticism of politicians who were aware of the science, but still did nothing.

“You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that,” she said. “Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil, and that I refuse to believe.”

Thunberg spoke at the UN following her appearance at the Global Climate Strike in New York City on Friday where she addressed the crowd of protestors , saying, “Our house is on fire. We will do everything in our power to stop this crisis from getting worse.”

Speaking to the world leaders at the climate summit Monday, Thunberg echoed her earlier message and offered a warning. “You are failing us. But young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you, and if you choose to fail us, I say, we will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this.”

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Write to Mahita Gajanan at [email protected]

Greta Thunberg Ted Talk Transcript: School Strike For Climate

Climate activist Greta Thunberg gave a Ted Talk speech titled “School strike for climate – save the world by changing the rules” on December 12, 2018. Read the transcript of her speech here.

Transcribe Your Own Content Try Rev and save time transcribing, captioning, and subtitling.

Greta Thunberg: ( 00:07 ) When I was about eight years old, I first heard about something called climate change or global warming. Apparently that was something humans had created by our way of living. I was told to turn off the lights to save energy and to recycle paper to save resources. I remember thinking that it was very strange that humans who are an animal species among others could be capable of changing the earth’s climate. Because if we were and if it was really happening, we wouldn’t be talking about anything else. As soon as you turn on the TV, everything would be about that; headlines, radio, newspapers. You would never read or hear about anything else as if there was a world war going on. But no one ever talked about it. If burning fossil fuels was so bad that it threatened our very existence, how could we just continue like before? Why were the no restrictions? Why wasn’t it made illegal?

Greta Thunberg: ( 01:25 ) To me that did not add up. It was too unreal. So when I was 11, I became ill. I fell into depression. I stopped talking and I stopped eating. In two months, I lost about 10 kilos of weight. Later on, I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, OCD and selective mutism. That basically means I only speak when I think it’s necessary. Now is one of those moments. For those of us who are on the spectrum, almost everything is black or white. We aren’t very good at lying and we usually don’t enjoy participating in the social game that the rest of you seem so fond of. I think in many ways that we autistic are the normal ones and the rest of the people are pretty strange, especially when it comes to the sustainability crisis where everyone keeps saying that climate change is an existential threat and the most important issue of all and yet they just carry on like before. I don’t understand that because if the emissions have to stop, then we must stop the emissions.

Greta Thunberg: ( 02:53 ) To me that is black or white. There are no gray areas when it comes to survival. Either we go on as a civilization or we don’t. We have to change. Rich countries like Sweden need to start reducing emissions by at least 15% every year. And that is so that we can stay below a two degree warming target. Yet as the IPCC have recently demonstrated, aiming instead for 1.5 degrees Celsius would significantly reduced the climate impacts, but we can only imagine what that means for reducing emissions. You would think the media and every one of our leaders would be talking about nothing else, but they never even mention it. Nor does anyone ever mention the greenhouse gases already locked in the system, nor that air pollution is hiding a warming so that when we stop burning fossil fuels, we already have an extra level of warming, perhaps as high as 0.5 to 1.1 degrees Celsius. Furthermore does hardly anyone speak about the fact that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction with up to 200 species going extinct every single day.

Greta Thunberg: ( 04:16 ) That the extinction rate is today between 1000 and 10,000 times higher than what is seen as normal. Nor does hardly anyone ever speak about the aspect of equity or climate justice clearly stated everywhere in the Paris Agreement, which is absolutely necessary to make it work on a global scale. That means that rich countries need to get down to zero emissions within six to 12 years with today’s emission speed. And that is so that people in poorer countries can have a chance to heighten their standard of living by building some of the infrastructure that we have already built, such as roads, schools, hospitals, clean drinking water, electricity, and so on. Because how can we expect countries like India or Nigeria to care about the climate crisis if we who already have everything don’t care even a second about it, or our actual commitments to the Paris Agreement.

Greta Thunberg: ( 05:26 ) So why are we not reducing our emissions? Why are they in fact still increasing? Are we knowingly causing a mass extinction? Are we evil? No, of course not. People keep doing what they do because the vast majority doesn’t have a clue about the actual consequences of our everyday life and they don’t know what the rapid changes required. We will think we know and we will think everybody knows, but we don’t because how could we. If there really was a crisis, and if this crisis was caused by our emissions, you would at least see some signs, not just flooded cities, tens of thousands of dead people, the whole nations leveled to piles of torn down buildings. You would see some restrictions, but no, and no one talks about it.

Greta Thunberg: ( 06:34 ) There are no emergency meetings, no headlines, no breaking news. No one is acting as if we were in a crisis. Even most climate scientists or green politicians keep on flying around the world, eating meat and dairy. If I live to be 100, I will be alive in the year 2103. When you think about the future today, you don’t think beyond the year 2050. By then I will, in the best case, not even have lived half of my life. What happens next? The year 2078 I will celebrate my 75th birthday. If I have children or grandchildren, maybe they will spend that day with me. Maybe they will ask me about you, the people who were around back in 2018. Maybe they will ask why you didn’t do anything while there was still time to act.

Greta Thunberg: ( 07:47 ) What we do or don’t do right now will affect my entire life and the lives of my children and grandchildren. What we do or don’t do right now, me and my generation can’t undo in the future. So when school started in August of this year, I decided that this was enough. I sat myself down on the ground outside of the Swedish parliament. I school striked for the climate. Some people say that I should be in school instead. Some people say that I should study to become a climate scientist so that I can solve the climate crisis. But the climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions, all we have to do is to wake up and change.

Greta Thunberg: ( 08:44 ) And why should I be studying for a future that soon will be no more when no one is doing anything whatsoever to save that future? And what is the point of learning facts in the school system when the most important facts given by the finest science of that same school system clearly means nothing to our politicians and our society? Some people say that Sweden is just a small country and that it doesn’t matter what we do. But I think that if a few children can get headlines all over the world just by not going to school for a few weeks, imagine what we could all do together if we wanted to.

Greta Thunberg: ( 09:30 ) Now we’re almost at the end of my talk and this is where people usually starts talking about hope, solar panels, wind power, circular economy, and so on. But I’m not going to do that. We’ve had 30 years of pep talking and selling positive ideas. And I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work because it you would have the emissions would have gone down by now, they haven’t. And yes, we do need hope. Of course, we do. But the one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then hope will come. Today we use 100 million barrels of oil every single day. There are no politics to change that. There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground. So we can’t save the world by playing by the rules because the rules have to be changed. Everything needs to change and it has to start today. Thank you.

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Transcript: Greta Thunberg's Speech At The U.N. Climate Action Summit

Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, addressed the U.N.'s Climate Action Summit in New York City on Monday. Here's the full transcript of Thunberg's speech, beginning with her response to a question about the message she has for world leaders.

"My message is that we'll be watching you.

"This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!

"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

'This Is All Wrong,' Greta Thunberg Tells World Leaders At U.N. Climate Session

"For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

"You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe.

"The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50% chance of staying below 1.5 degrees [Celsius], and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

"Fifty percent may be acceptable to you. But those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist.

"So a 50% risk is simply not acceptable to us — we who have to live with the consequences.

"To have a 67% chance of staying below a 1.5 degrees global temperature rise – the best odds given by the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] – the world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on Jan. 1st, 2018. Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatons.

"How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just 'business as usual' and some technical solutions? With today's emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8 1/2 years.

"There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

"You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.

"We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.

"Thank you."

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Speeches on Climate Action

From top leaders around the united nations, secretary-general's remarks to forum on china-africa cooperation summit.

“South-South cooperation is essential to build capacities and drive progress on shared development goals – while in no way reducing the responsibilities of the Global North.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Timor-Leste's Parliament

“The finance needed for adaptation - both in Timor-Leste and across the globe - far outstrips the money available. The world must react.”

Secretary-General's press conference on sea level rise

“Around 1 meter of future sea level rise is already locked in. But its future scale, pace, and impact are not. That depends on decisions we take now.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the opening of the Pacific Islands Forum

“Pacific islands are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet and our ocean.”

Secretary-General's press conference - on Extreme Heat

“Extreme heat is having an extreme impact on people and planet. The world must rise to the challenge of rising temperatures.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Launch of the 2024 State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World

“Let’s build the strong, resilient and sustainable food and nutrition systems all people need and deserve.”

Secretary-General's press encounter at UN House in Apia, Samoa

“The fate of the Pacific depends on limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 2024 SDG Global Business Forum

“The private sector is fundamental to forging the transformative change we need. I call on all companies to fully align business models with the Sustainable Development Goals and the 1.5° C target.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Opening of the Ministerial Segment of the High-Level Political Forum

“The success of the Goals means keeping the promises the world made here nine years ago — to end poverty, protect the planet, drive shared prosperity and leave no one behind. Intergenerational partnerships must be at the forefront.”

Secretary-General's press encounter in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

“I hope Turkmenistan will play a full part in the global energy transition, including at this year’s Conference of Parties in Azerbaijan.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

“We need far greater ambition to slash emissions and deliver climate justice, starting by the developed countries, but mobilizing also all other bigger emitters, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development

“We must support Africa’s potential as the world’s food basket and its ambition to become a renewable energy superpower — while making sure that critical minerals benefit Africans in the first place.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights addresses panel on the adverse impacts of climate change on human rights

“The countries most responsible for climate change have an obligation to provide climate financing to remedy human rights harms from climate-related loss and damage.”

Secretary-General's message to the Austrian Forum for Peace

“Peace in our world depends on peace with our planet and its natural gifts. And it requires global leaders to overcome geo-political divisions for the common good.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Press on the launch of the the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024

“We must not let up on our promises - to end poverty, protect the planet and leave no one behind.”

Secretary-General’s opening remarks at press conference to launch the Global Principles for Information Integrity

“The climate crisis is a cause of particular concern. Coordinated disinformation campaigns are seeking to undermine climate action.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Austria World Summit

“Every one of us must do our part. And put the tools we have to work. Together, let’s create a healthy planet and a safer future for us all.”

Secretary-General's video message on the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

“As we mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention, the world must dramatically pick up the pace of implementation.”

Secretary-General's press encounter on the forthcoming G7 Summit

“We need a clear commitment from the G7 on doubling finance for adaptation by next year, and closing the adaptation finance gap.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Global Leaders Forum for the 60th Anniversary of UN Trade and Development

“We must channel the courage and wisdom of those who built UNCTAD, to reimagine a world where trade is a force for shared prosperity -- not geopolitical rivalry.”

Secretary-General's message on UN World Oceans Day 2024

“Now is the time for governments, businesses, investors, scientists and communities to come together in defense of our ocean.”

Secretary-General's special address on climate action "A Moment of Truth"

“Now is the time to mobilise, now is the time to act, now is the time to deliver. This is our moment of truth.”

Secretary-General's message on World Environment Day

“Countries must deliver on all their commitments to restore degraded ecosystems and land, and on the entire Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.”

Secretary-General's remarks to opening of High-Level meeting on mobilization of resources for small island developing states

“Global institutions cannot be effective if they are not representative. SIDS must have a seat at every table, and your voices must be heard.”

Secretary-General's remarks to opening of Fourth Small Island Developing States Conference

“SIDS have demonstrated strong and principled leadership on climate action and on the capacity to respond to the challenges that we face in the last three decades.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the closing of the Small Island Developing States Global Business Network Forum

“I urge you to prioritize climate action by developing and implementing ambitious, credible, and verifiable net-zero plans.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the United Nations Civil Society Conference in support of the Summit of the Future

“Our fight is one fight: Creating a better world and a brighter future for all.”

Secretary-General's press conference ahead of the closing session of the United Nations Civil Society Conference

“The crises we face demand international solutions.The United Nations will never stop fighting to deliver – for Africa and for all humanity.”

Secretary-General's message on World Press Freedom Day

“The United Nations recognizes the invaluable work of journalists and media professionals to ensure that the public is informed and engaged.”

Secretary-General's remarks for the Launch of the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals

“The renewables revolution is happening – but we must make sure that it is done in a way that moves us towards justice.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the UNDP Climate Promise 2025 Launch

“And together, let’s make the next round of climate action plans count.”

Secretary-General’s message on International Mother Earth Day

“Repairing relations with Mother Earth is the mother of all of humanity’s challenges. We must act – and act now – to create a better future for us all.”

Secretary-General's video message for the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action

“The end of the fossil fuel age is coming. It is unstoppable. But finance is essential to supercharge the shift.”

Secretary-General’s video message to the Opening of Part II of the 14th IRENA Assembly

“Our task is to ensure the transition is fast enough, and fair enough – to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and bring the benefits of affordable clean power to everyone by 2030.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the 2024 ECOSOC Youth Forum

“I salute young people for being on the frontlines for bold climate action.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the General Assembly debate on Debt Sustainability and Socio-Economic Equality for All

“Let’s seize this opportunity to forge a more effective and fairer multilateral system — one that responds to the needs of today's world with agility, empathy and above all, justice.”

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary’s remarks at Chatham House

“Every voice matters. Yours have never been more important. If you want bolder climate action, now is the time to make yours count.”

Secretary-General’s message on the International Day of Zero Waste

“On this Zero Waste Day, let’s pledge to end the destructive cycle of waste, once and for all.”

Secretary-General's message on Earth Hour

“Together, let’s turn off the lights and turn the world towards a brighter future for us all.”

Secretary-General’s message on World Meteorological Day

“All of us must unite at the frontlines of climate action – the theme of this year’s World Meteorological Day – and fight for a better future.”

Secretary-General's message on World Water Day

“Water stewardship can strengthen multilateralism and ties between communities, and build resilience to climate disasters.”

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary’s remarks at the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial

“On climate action - we’re now in the race to the top. Every country has a choice: plan for a better economy and fix finance for a better world or miss out on the opportunities others are reaping.”

Secretary-General's video message to the WMO “State of the Global Climate 2023” report launch

“Every fraction of a degree of global heating impacts the future of life on Earth.”

Secretary-General's video message for the 10th European Summit of Regions and Cities

“The fight against climate catastrophe will be lost or won in cities, which account for 70 per cent of carbon emissions.”

Secretary-General's message on World Wildlife Day

“We depend on nature. Let’s show that nature can depend on us – and act now to protect it."

Secretary-General's remarks at the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit

“All countries must commit to new economy-wide nationally determined contributions by 2025 that align with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 6th United Nations Environment Assembly

“You have shown before that you can unite and deliver – most recently with your historic decision to negotiate a plastic treaty. I urge you to do so again – and go further.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Human Rights Council

“Environmental justice and climate justice are rallying cries for ethical, equitable treatment, accountability and human rights.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Munich Security Conference: Growing the Pie: A Global Order that works for Everyone

“The next two years must see ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions – national climate plans – from every country, covering every sector.”

Secretary-General's video message to the International Energy Agency's 50th Anniversary Celebration

“Limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, ultimately depends on putting an end to fossil fuels.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council High-level Open Debate on the Impact of Climate Change and Food Insecurity on the Maintenance of Int'l Peace and Security

“Climate action is action for food security and action for peace.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science

“From climate change to health to artificial intelligence, the equal participation of women and girls in scientific discovery and innovation is the only way to ensure that science works for everyone.”

Secretary-General's briefing to the General Assembly on Priorities for 2024

“We must act this year to ensure that the transition is just for people and planet – and that it will be fast enough to prevent full-on climate catastrophe”

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary’s remarks at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan

“At UN Climate Change, we will not rest in pushing for the highest ambition – in accordance with the science – working side-by-side with all governments, businesses and community leaders.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Clean Energy

“Strong, cohesive societies can only be built on a foundation of advancing sustainable development, respecting human rights, and recognizing the rights of minorities, and standing up to all forms of discrimination.”

Secretary-General's press encounter at Third South Summit - G77 plus China

“This September, the United Nations will convene the Summit of the Future, with a focus on updating these institutions so that they align with today’s world and respond to today’s challenges.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Third South Summit - G77 Plus China

“I ask you to unite against climate catastrophe. The very existence of some countries in this room depends on limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Secretary-General's Special Address to the World Economic Forum

“The phaseout of fossil fuels is essential and inevitable. No amount of spin or scare tactics will change that. Let’s hope it doesn’t come too late.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Sustainable Regional Aviation Forum

“A carbon-free future is the only way forward. And the aviation sector can help deliver this future.”

Secretary-General's video message for New Year 2024 [available in EN & FR]

“2024 must be a year for rebuilding trust and restoring hope. We must come together across divides for shared solutions”

Secretary-General's statement at the closing of the UN Climate Change Conference COP28

“The era of fossil fuels must end – and it must end with justice and equity.”

UN Secretary-General's press encounter at COP28

“In our fractured and divided world, COP28 can show that multilateralism remains our best hope to tackle global challenges.”

Secretary-General's remarks to roundtable on report of High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero

“The report by my High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero, so well represented here, provides a blueprint for credible climate action by non-state actors that aligns with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Early Warnings for All event at COP28

"In a world defined by escalating climate injustices, early warning systems are the most basic tool for saving lives and securing livelihoods.”

Secretary-General's remarks at Global Climate Action High Level Event: Towards a Turning Point for Climate Action

“Let’s deliver the renewable, sustainable and equitable future people and planet deserve.”

Secretary-General's remarks to G77+China COP28 Leaders' Summit

“This COP can win with a double objective: maximum ambition on mitigation and maximum ambition in relation to climate justice, namely taking into full account the interests of developing countries.”

Secretary-General's remarks at High-Level meeting of the Landlocked Developing Countries

“Together, we can lay the foundation for a more resilient and sustainable future for over 500 million people of landlocked developing countries, leaving no one behind.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks to "Call of the Mountains: who saves us from the climate crisis?" organized by the Prime Minister of Nepal

“The mountains are issuing a distress call. COP28 must respond with a rescue plan”

UN Secretary-General's remarks to the Local Climate Action Summit

“Let’s stand as one — and work as one — to protect all communities from the climate crisis, and spur the renewable, sustainable and equitable future people and planet deserve.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks at opening of World Climate Action Summit

“We are miles from the goals of the Paris Agreement – and minutes to midnight for the 1.5-degree limit. But it is not too late. We can - you can - prevent planetary crash and burn.”

Secretary-General's video message to the WMO “State of the Global Climate 2023” Report launch

“We need leaders to fire the starting gun at COP28 on a race to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive.”

Secretary-General's press encounter on Climate (and situation in the Middle East)

“Leaders must not let the hopes of people around the world for a sustainable planet melt away. They must make COP28 count.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 18th Climate Change Conference of Youth

“I am proud to stand in solidarity with you ahead of this vital COP. Young people are the climate fighters our world needs.”

Secretary-General's message on World Sustainable Transport Day

“I am convinced humanity is up to the challenge of breaking our addiction to climate-killing fossil fuels, and creating resilient, efficient and low-carbon transportation systems grounded in innovative renewable energy sources.”

Secretary-General's video message from Antarctica

“So as leaders gather for COP28, my message is clear: Break this cycle. And act now to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, protect people from climate chaos, and end the fossil fuel age.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels

“By moving at jet speed, you can speed-up the clean energy revolution our world needs.”

Secretary-General's press conference on UNEP Emissions Gap Report Launch

“We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality. And we know how to get there – we have roadmaps from the International Energy Agency and the IPCC.”

Secretary-General's Message - UNFCCC NDC Synthesis Report Launch

“Governments must come together to line up the necessary finance, support and partnerships to increase ambition in their national climate plans and swiftly put those plans into action. And developed countries must rebuild trust by delivering on their finance commitments.”

Secretary-General's video message for the Paris Peace Forum - “Seeking common ground in a world of rivalry”

“Seeking common ground means cutting emissions and ensuring climate justice for those who did least to cause this crisis but are paying the highest price – starting at the COP28.”

Secretary-General's message on UNEP Production Gap Report Launch

“Leaders must act now to save humanity from the worst impacts of climate chaos, and profit from the extraordinary benefits of renewable energy.”

Secretary-General's video message to the “Confluence Of Conscience: Uniting Faith Leaders For Planetary Resurgence” Conference

“We need your moral voice and spiritual authority to summon the conscience of leaders, awaken their ambition, and inspire them to do what is needed at COP28 to save our one and only home.”

Secretary-General's message on World Tsunami Awareness Day

“On World Tsunami Awareness Day, let us commit to leaving no one behind when a tsunami strikes, and work together to secure a safe, prosperous future for all.”

Secretary-General's message for the Adaptation Gap Report Launch

“Today’s report shows the gap in adaptation funding is the highest ever. The world must take action to close the adaptation gap and deliver climate justice.”

Secretary-General's message on World Cities Day

“Cities are engines of economic growth and innovation that hold the key to achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the opening of the Pre-COP28 [as prepared for delivery]

“The solutions are in the hands of us all. What we need is the political will, finance and courage to roll them out at the pace, and at the scale this crisis demands.”

Secretary-General’s video message on Glaciers from the Mount Everest Region

“We must act now to protect people on the frontline and to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, to avert the worst of climate chaos.”

Secretary-General’s remarks at the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation

“We can turn the infrastructure emergency into an infrastructure opportunity, supercharge the implementation of the sustainable development goals, and deliver hope and progress for billions of people and the planet we share.”

Secretary-General's video message to the UN World Tourism Organisation General Assembly

“The climate crisis is threatening many tourist destinations and the very survival of communities around the world.”

Secretary-General's message on World Food Day

“The sustainable management of water for agriculture and food production is essential to end hunger, achieve the SDGs, and preserve water for future generations.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

“Countries must work to break the cycle of poverty and disaster by honouring the Paris Agreement, striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.”

Secretary-General's Message for World Habitat Day

“On this World Habitat Day, let us pledge to build inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable human settlements for all people, everywhere.”

Secretary-General's video message to the International Climate and Energy Summit

“The Climate Ambition Summit I hosted in New York last month indicated a collective way forward. And it showed that action to meet the 1.5 degree limit is not a dream. It is practical and it is possible.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Leaders' Meeting

“With global action for climate justice and financial justice, we can create the change you need. The United Nations is with you, every step of the way.”

Secretary-General's Closing Remarks at the Climate Ambition Summit

“This started as the Climate Ambition Summit and I believe it ends as the Climate Hope Summit.”

Secretary-General's opening remarks at the Climate Ambition Summit

“We can still limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees. We can still build a world of clear air, green jobs, and affordable clean power for all.”

Secretary-General's address to the General Assembly

“One Summit will not change the world. But today can be a powerful moment to generate momentum”

Secretary-General's remarks to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

“We must end the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Opening of the SDG Action Weekend

“The SDGs are not about checking boxes. They’re about the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people and the health of our natural environment.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the G77 & China Summit

“We need action now. We need action today.”

Secretary-General's Press Conference - prior to the 78th session of the UN General Assembly

“My appeal to world leaders will be clear: This is not a time for posturing or positioning. This is not a time for indifference or indecision. This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions.”

Secretary-General's video message to the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms

“Together, we can help to calm the storms, and build a safer, healthier, more sustainable world for us all.”

Secretary-General's press conference at G20

“I have come to the G20 with a simple but urgent appeal: we cannot go on like this. We must come together and act together for the common good. ”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies

“Our air is a common good and a common responsibility. Let’s work together to clean it up, protect our health, and leave a healthy planet for generations to come.”

Secretary-General's message on the Hottest Summer on Record

“Surging temperatures demand a surge in action. Leaders must turn up the heat now for climate solutions.”

Secretary-General's remarks at African Climate Summit

“Renewable energy could be the African miracle, but we must make it happen.”

Secretary-General's video message to the African Youth Climate Assembly

“The passion and determination of young people around the world is responsible for much of the climate action that we have seen. You are what climate leadership looks like.”

Secretary-General's message on International Youth Day

“From innovative sustainable technologies and renewable energy, to revolutions in transportation systems and industrial activity, young people must be equipped with skills and knowledge to shape a cleaner, greener, more climate resilient future.”

Secretary-General's press conference - on climate

“We must turn a year of burning heat into a year of burning ambition. And accelerate climate action – now.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks to the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment

“We need food systems that can help end the senseless war on our planet. Food systems transformation is fundamental to reducing carbon emissions and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ remarks at the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council: Adverse impact of climate change on the full realization of the right to food

“Addressing climate change is a human rights issue. And the world demands action, now.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 80th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee

“This meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee is a chance to steer us towards a clean, prosperous future for the industry – and a safer future for humanity.”

Secretary-General's remarks at Sciences Po University

“Sound the alarm. Stand up for each other and our planet, and human rights.”

Secretary-General remarks at the Paris Summit on a New Global Financing Pact

“I have proposed an SDG Stimulus of $500 billion US dollars per year for investments in sustainable development and climate action.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Intergov. Conference on an INT'L Legally Binding Instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

“By acting to counter threats to our planet that go beyond national boundaries, you are demonstrating that global threats deserve global action.”

Secretary-General's press conference - on Climate

“I call on all fossil fuel companies to present credible, comprehensive and detailed new transition plans – fully in line with all the recommendations of my High-level Expert Group on net zero pledges.”

Secretary-General's opening remarks at press briefing on Policy Brief on Information Integrity on Digital Platforms

“The proliferation of hate and lies in the digital space is causing grave global harm – now. It is fueling conflict, death and destruction – now. It is threatening democracy and human rights – now. It is undermining public health and climate action – now.”

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the Member States Briefing on the Climate Ambition Summit [as prepared for delivery]

“We hope and expect that your leaders, the private sector, and civil society organizations, will come to the Summit with credible and ambitious actions and commitments.”

Secretary-General's message on World Oceans Day 2023

“Human-induced climate change is heating our planet, disrupting weather patterns and ocean currents, and altering marine ecosystems and the species living there.”

“Plastic is made from fossil fuels – the more plastic we produce, the more fossil fuel we burn, and the worse we make the climate crisis. But we have solutions.”

Secretary-General's video message to the UN HABITAT Assembly

“Multilateralism must support cities to take action on climate, advance access to affordable housing, and deliver the local initiatives needed to make the SDGs a reality.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day for Biological Diversity

“Last year’s agreement on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework marked an important step – but now is the time to move from agreement to action.”

Secretary-General’s video message to the G7 Summit

“Climate action is working – but we are clearly off track. The Acceleration Agenda I proposed aims to make up for lost time.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Austrian World Summit

“On climate, we have all the tools we need to get the job done. But if we waste time, we will be out of time.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 8th Wildland Fire Conference

“But by working together, we can build a safer, more sustainable, and more resilient world for all."

Secretary-General's video message to the Petersberg Climate Dialogue

“We must act on science, facts and truth."

Secretary-General's remarks at the TIME CO2 Earth Awards

“People power is renewable energy that can move the dial."

Secretary-General's remarks to launch the Special Edition of the Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report

"The agreements reached in 2015 in New York, Addis and Paris stand for peace and prosperity, people and planet. That promise is now in peril."

Secretary-General's message on International Mother Earth Day

“This Earth Day, I urge people everywhere to raise your voices – in your schools, workplaces and faith communities, and on social media platforms – and demand leaders make peace with nature."

Secretary-General's video message to the Major Economies Forum

“The science is clear: new fossil fuel projects are entirely incompatible with 1.5 degrees."

Secretary-General's remarks at Opening Ceremony of the 22nd Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

"Indigenous Peoples hold many of the solutions to the climate crisis and are guardians of the world’s biodiversity… We have so much to learn from their wisdom, knowledge, leadership, experience, and example."

Secretary-General's remarks to the General Assembly on the request of an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change

“The climate crisis can only be overcome through cooperation – between peoples, cultures, nations, generations."

Secretary-General's video message to the Economist Impact's 8th Annual Sustainability Week

“We have never been better equipped to solve the climate challenge – but we must move into high gear now."

Secretary-General's remarks at the United Nations Water Conference

“Now is the moment for game-changing commitments to bring the Water Action Agenda to life."

Secretary-General's video message for press conference to launch the Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

“We have never been better equipped to solve the climate challenge – but we must move into warp speed climate action now."

Secretary-General's video message to the 58th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

“The facts are not in question. But our actions are."

UN Secretary-General's remarks to the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council

“Fossil fuel producers and their financiers must understand one simple truth: pursuing mega-profits when so many people are losing their lives and rights, now and in the future, is totally unacceptable."

ASG Hart’s Remarks to the Global Engagement Summit

“We must act now. The time for excuses, delayed action and incrementalism is over."

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks to the Oslo Energy Forum [as prepared for delivery]

“Above all, we must focus on two urgent outcomes: cutting emissions and achieving climate justice."

Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council Debate on "Sea-level Rise: Implications for International Peace and Security"

“Sea-level rise is not only a threat in itself. It is a threat-multiplier."

Secretary-General's briefing to the General Assembly on Priorities for 2023

“We need a renewables revolution, not a self-destructive fossil fuel resurgence."

Secretary-General's remarks at the World Economic Forum

“Today, fossil fuel producers and their enablers are still racing to expand production, knowing full well that this business model is inconsistent with human survival."

Secretary-General's video message to the 13th session of the IRENA Assembly: “World Energy Transition – The Global Stocktake”

“If we are to avert climate catastrophe, renewables are the only credible path forward."

Secretary-General's remarks at the International Conference on a Climate Resilient Pakistan

“Words are not enough. Without action, climate catastrophe is coming for all of us."

Secretary-General's remarks at End-of-Year Press Conference

“The global emissions gap is growing. The 1.5-degree goal is gasping for breath. National climate plans are falling woefully short. And yet, we are not retreating. We are fighting back."

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the High-Level Segment of COP-15

“Together we can protect the web of life that makes our planet unique — and ensure that humanity prospers in harmony with nature."

Secretary-General's opening remarks at Press Stakeout at COP15 Biodiversity Conference in Montreal

“Climate action and protection of biodiversity are two sides of the same coin."

Secretary-General's remarks at the UN Biodiversity Conference — COP15

“Together, let’s adopt and deliver an ambitious framework — a peace pact with nature — and pass on a better, greener, bluer and more sustainable world to our children."

Secretary-General's statement at the conclusion of COP27

“Together, let’s not relent in the fight for climate justice and climate ambition. We can and must win this battle for our lives." 

Secretary-General's remarks at COP27 stakeout

“The world is watching and has a simple message to all of us: stand and deliver. Deliver the kind of meaningful climate action that people and planet so desperately need.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the G20 session on food and energy crises [as delivered]

“There is no way we can defeat climate change without a Climate Solidarity Pact between developed countries and large emerging economies. […] The Just Energy Transition Partnerships are an important first step.”

Opening remarks of the Secretary-General at press conference at G20 Summit

“The goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees is slipping away. We are dangerously close to tipping points at which climate chaos could become irreversible. Science tells us that global heating beyond that limit poses an existential threat to all life on earth. But global emissions, and temperatures, continue to rise.”

Secretary-General's remarks at launch of Al Gore's Climate TRACE initiative

“We have huge emissions gaps, finance gaps, adaptation gaps. But those gaps cannot be effectively addressed without plugging the data gaps. After all, it is impossible to effectively manage and control what we cannot measure.”

Secretary-General's remarks at launch of report of High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments [as delivered]

“Calling the new report of his independent Net-zero Expert Group on Emissions Commitments “a how-to guide to ensure credible, accountable net-zero pledges,” the Secretary-General today stressed that “using bogus ‘net-zero’ pledges to cover up massive fossil fuel expansion is reprehensible.”

Secretary-General's remarks at joint press encounter with Prime Minister of Pakistan

“There are moments in our life that become unforgettable and that mark us deeply. My last visit to Pakistan was one of these moments. To see an area flooded that is three times the size of my country, Portugal. To see the loss of life, the loss of crops, the loss of livelihoods.”

Secretary-General’s remarks at the launch of early warning for all executive action plan

“Universal early warning coverage can save lives and deliver huge financial benefits. Just 24 hours’ notice of an impending hazardous event can cut damage by 30 per cent. And yet, around the world, vulnerable communities have no way of knowing that hazardous weather is on its way.”

Secretary-General's remarks to High-Level opening of COP27

“The science is clear: any hope of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees means achieving global net zero emissions by 2050.”

Secretary-General’s message at the launch of the Provisional State of the Global Climate 2022

“As COP27 gets underway, our planet is sending a distress signal. The latest State of the Global Climate report is a chronicle of climate chaos.”

Secretary-General’s message at the launch of UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report

“Today’s UNEP Adaptation Gap report makes clear that the world is failing to protect people from the here-and-now impacts of the climate crisis.”

Secretary-General's video message on the Release of the United Nations Environment Programme Emissions Gap Report

"Commitments to net zero are worth zero without the plans, policies and actions to back it up. Our world cannot afford any more greenwashing, fake movers or late movers."

Message on lancet countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change

"The science is clear: massive, common-sense investments in renewable energy and climate resilience will secure a healthier, safer life for people in every country."

"People need adequate warning to prepare for extreme weather events. That is why I am calling for universal early warning coverage in the next five years. Early warning systems – and the ability to act on them -- are proven lifesavers."

Secretary-General letter to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors

“The COVID-19 pandemic, impacts of the war in Ukraine seen in the rising cost of living and tightening financial conditions and unsustainable debt burdens, along with the escalating climate emergency, are wreaking havoc on economies across the globe.”

Secretary-General's remarks at press encounter on Pre-Cop27

"Starting today, government representatives are meeting in Kinshasa for the critical pre-COP that will set the stage. The work ahead is immense. As immense as the climate impacts we are seeing around the world."

Secretary-General's message on World Habitat Day

"On World Habitat Day, let us pledge to live up to our shared responsibility to one another."

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at pre-COP27 discussions

"We need progress at COP27. Progress that shows that leaders fully comprehend the scale of the emergency we face and the value of COP, as a space where world leaders come together to solve problems and take responsibility."

Secretary-General's video message to Countdown to COP15: Leaders Event for a Nature-Positive World

"Today’s suicidal war on nature will have devastating consequences for us all. It is fueling the climate crisis, driving species to extinction, and destroying ecosystems. It is making growing areas of our planet inhospitable, driving conflict and pandemics, and jeopardizing our Sustainable Development Goals."

UN Secretary-General's Address to the General Assembly [Trilingual]

"Polluters must pay. Today, I am calling on all developed economies to tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies. Those funds should be re-directed in two ways: to countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis; and to people struggling with rising food and energy prices."

UN Secretary-General’s message at launch of the United in Science Report

"This year’s United in Science report shows climate impacts heading into uncharted territories of destruction. Yet each year we double-down on this fossil fuel addiction, even as the symptoms get rapidly worse."

Time to make good on adaptation promises

“Now is the time for solidarity and keeping the promise to humankind while protecting our planet,” said Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed at the Africa Adaptation Finance Forum in the lead-up to COP27, calling on developed countries to step up funding for the most vulnerable countries to adapt to the worsening climate impacts.

UN Secretary-General remarks at One Billion Tree campaign planting event

"My generation declared war on nature - with climate change with the loss of biodiversity, with pollution. Nature is striking back. Striking back with storms, with desertification with floods, with disasters that are making life very difficult for many people around the world and causing many victims."

UN Secretary-General’s remarks to the press in Japan

"We need solidarity to combat the climate crisis. Japan itself is seeing the consequences of our exploitation of fossil fuels, with an unusual stretch of extreme heat earlier this year, followed by torrential rain."

UN Secretary-General launches the Global Crisis Response Group’s latest brief on the global energy crisis

"I urge people everywhere to send a clear message to the fossil fuel industry and their financiers that this grotesque greed is punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people, while destroying our only common home, the planet."

Secretary-General's video message to the Petersberg Dialogue

“This has to be the decade of decisive climate action. That means trust, multilateralism and collaboration. We have a choice. Collective action or collective suicide. It is in our hands.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the opening of the 2022 High-level Segment of ECOSOC, Ministerial Segment of High-Level Political Forum

“Ending the global addiction to fossil fuels through a renewable energy revolution is priority number one.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks at the 43rd Regular Meeting of the CARICOM Conference

“The Caribbean is ground zero for the global climate emergency.”

UN Secretary-General's opening remarks to United Nations Ocean Conference

“Sustainable ocean management could help the ocean produce as much as six times more food and generate 40 times more renewable energy than it currently does.”

UN Secretary-General's virtual remarks to Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate

“Renewables not only fight the climate crisis, they support energy security. The time for hedging bets has ended. The world has gambled on fossil fuels and lost.”

UN Secretary-General’s video message to the 6th Austrian World Summit

“New funding for fossil fuel exploration and production infrastructure is delusional. I repeat my call for G20 governments to dismantle coal infrastructure, with a full phase-out by 2030 for OECD countries and 2040 for all others.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Stockholm+50 international meeting

“Let us recommit – in words and deeds – to the spirit of responsibility enshrined in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration.”

Remarks of Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action, Selwin Hart, to the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit

“With just six months until COP27 in Egypt, the world is way off track to meet our collective goals on mitigation, finance and adaptation. We have less than a decade to reverse course.”

“Let us make sure our leaders bring the ambition and action needed to address our triple planetary emergency. Because we have only one Mother Earth. We must do everything we can to protect her.”

Secretary-General's video message on the launch of the third IPCC report

“Demand that renewable energy is introduced now – at speed and at scale. Demand an end to coal-fired power. Demand an end to all fossil fuel subsidies.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the launch of the the High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities

“If we don’t see significant and sustained emissions reductions this decade, the window of opportunity to keep 1.5 alive will be closed – and closed forever.”

Secretary-General's message on World Meteorological Day

“Today I announce the United Nations will spearhead new action to ensure every person on Earth is protected by early warning systems within five years.”

“On this World Water Day, let us commit to intensifying collaboration among sectors and across borders so we can sustainably balance the needs of people and nature and harness groundwater for current and future generations.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Forests

“On this International Day of Forests, let us recommit to healthy forests for healthier livelihoods.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Economist Sustainability Summit

“Instead of hitting the brakes on the decarbonization of the global economy, now is the time to put the pedal to the metal towards a renewable energy future.”

“On this World Wildlife Day let us commit to preserving our invaluable and irreplaceable wildlife for the benefit and delight of current and future generations.”

Secretary-General's video message to UNEP@50: Special Session of the UN Environment Assembly

“UNEP's science, policy work, coordination and advocacy has helped to right environmental wrongs around the world and raise awareness of the importance of the environmental dimension of sustainable development.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Press Conference Launch of IPCC Report

“Every fraction of a degree matters. Every voice can make a difference. And every second counts.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Club de Lisboa conference: "Energizing the World while preserving the planet"

“Every country must strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions until they collectively deliver the 45 per cent emissions reduction needed by 2030.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the General Assembly on his Priorities for 2022

“The battle to keep the 1.5-degree goal alive will be won or lost in this decade.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the World Economic Forum [as delivered]

“Turning this ship around will take immense willpower and ingenuity from governments and businesses alike, in every major-emitting nation.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Twelfth Session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

“By investing in a renewable energy future, we can support pandemic recovery and build resilient societies and sustainable and inclusive economies.”

Closing remarks by Collen Kelapile, President of ECOSOC, at the briefing on the outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26)

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers a roadmap to pursue climate action and sustainable development in an integrated, inclusive and resilient manner.”

Opening remarks by Collen Kelapile, President of ECOSOC, at the briefing on the outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26)

“The Glasgow Climate Pact to keep global warming to 1.5C and the other important commitments are a sign of progress.”

Secretary-General's remarks at Security Council debate on Security in the Context of Terrorism and Climate Change

“Climate impacts compound conflicts and exacerbate fragility.”

Secretary-General's statement on the conclusion of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26

“Success or failure is not an act of nature. It’s in our hands.”

Patricia Espinosa: COP26 Reaches Consensus on Key Actions to Address Climate Change

“For every announcement made, we look forward to both firm plans and the fine print.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Global Climate Action High-Level Event - as delivered

“Only together can we keep 1.5 degrees within reach and the equitable and resilient world we need.”

Secretary-General's video message for the Caring for Climate High-Level Meeting

“Private sector finance must be aligned with a credible net-zero, resilient and sustainable development pathway.”

Delivered remarks of Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action, Selwin Hart, to Powering the World Past Coal event at COP26

“We now need all G20 countries to commit to phase-out coal based on the science. OECD countries by 2030, and globally by 2040.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Climate Vulnerable Forum Leaders Dialogue [as delivered]

“Every country and region must commit to net zero emissions and pursue concrete and credible near-term targets.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the World Leaders Summit - COP 26 [as delivered]

“We must listen — and we must act — and we must choose wisely.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 16th Conference of Youth (COY) of UNFCCC COP26

“I will continue to call on every country to ensure young people have a seat at the climate decision making table.”

Opening remarks at the launch of the Emissions Gap 2021 Report press conference

“The time for closing the leadership gap must begin in Glasgow.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the High-Level Meeting on Delivering Climate Action - for People, Planet & Prosperity

“We need decarbonization now, across every sector in every country.”

Deputy Secretary-General remarks at the Middle East Green Initiative Summit 2021

“We need to urgently peak, reduce, and stabilize global green-house gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050.”

UN Secretary-General's video remarks to World Bank/IMF Event on Making Climate Action Count

“As COP26 approaches, it is essential for all humanity that we fulfil the promise of the Paris Agreement.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference [as delivered]

“We must act together, smartly, and quickly, to make the next nine years count.”

Secretary-General's video message to Leaders Summit of the UN Biodiversity Conference

“Ecosystem collapse could cost almost three trillion US dollars annually by 2030.”

Secretary-General's message on World Habitat Day 2021

“On World Habitat Day, let us work together to harness the transformative potential of sustainable urban action for the benefit of our planet and all people.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the UNCTAD 15 Opening Ceremony

“We need to turn this around with a bold, sustainable and inclusive global recovery.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Pre-COP26

“It is essential for all humanity that we fulfil the promise of the Paris Agreement.”

Secretary-General’s Video Message to Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition (Pre-COP Youth Event)

“We need young people everywhere to keep raising your voices.”

Opening remarks to High-level Dialogue on Energy

“Investing in clean, affordable energy for all will improve the well-being of billions of people.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Food Systems Summit

“We must build a world where healthy and nutritious food is available and affordable for everyone, everywhere.”

Secretary-General’s remarks to the Security Council High-level Open Debate on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Climate and Security

“Much bolder climate action is needed ahead of COP 26 – with G20 nations in the lead – to maintain international peace and security.”

Statement by the Secretary-General on the announcements by the United States and China on climate action

“All countries must bring their highest level of ambition to Glasgow if we are to keep the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Agreement within reach.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the media following the Informal Leaders Roundtable on Climate Action

“Governments must shift subsidies away from fossil fuels and progressively phase out coal use.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate [as delivered]

“We need more ambition on finance, adaptation and mitigation.”

Statement by the Secretary-General on the report by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

“The fight against climate change will only succeed if everyone comes together to promote more ambition, more cooperation and more credibility.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

“The Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment show us that by acting together, anything is possible.”

Secretary-General's video message to the media on the launch of United in Science Climate Report

“We need all countries to present more ambitious and achievable Nationally Determined Contributions.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the High-Level Dialogue of the Americas on Climate Action

“We need a breakthrough on adaptation and resilience.”

Deputy Secretary-General's video message for the High-Level Dialogue “Adaptation Acceleration Imperative for COP26” - as convened by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA)

“The IPCC findings provide irrefutable evidence that billions of lives are at risk unless we rapidly cut emissions.”

Secretary-General's statement on the IPCC Working Group 1 Report on the Physical Science Basis of the Sixth Assessment

“As today’s report makes clear, there is no time for delay and no room for excuses.”

Statement by the Secretary-General on the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Environment, Climate and Energy

“With less than 100 days left before COP 26, I urge all G20 and other leaders to commit to net zero by mid-century, present more ambitious 2030 national climate plans and deliver on concrete policies and actions aligned with a net zero future.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Third G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors

“The G20 must set ambitious, clear and credible climate policies.”

Secretary-General's video remarks at launch of the First Hydromet Gap Report

“It presents the challenges of the complex global and local undertaking required for effective weather and climate forecast services and it proposes priority solutions to scale up hydromet development.”

Secretary-General's video message to the First Climate Vulnerable Finance Summit

“Developing countries need reassurance that their ambition will be met with much-needed financial and technical support.”

“All plans and initiatives must be ambitious, credible and verifiable.”

Secretary-General's virtual Press Conference at the G7 Summit

“In the developing world, people are already suffering and need support to build resilience.”

Secretary-General's closing remarks to Insurance Development Forum

“Investments should not be contributing to climate pollution but should be directed towards climate solutions.”

“The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a global call to action. Everyone can contribute.”

Secretary-General's video remarks to Clean Energy Ministerial meeting

“This decade must also be when renewable energy overtakes fossil fuels.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Partnering for Green Growth Summit

“Tackling climate change head-on will help protect the most vulnerable people from the next crisis while sustaining a job-rich recovery from the pandemic.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Global Roundtable on Transforming Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development [as delivered]

“All public and private finance in the extractives sector should be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.”

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at G7 Climate and Environment Ministerial Meeting [as delivered]

“The G7 holds great sway to ensure that 2021 is a pivotal year for people and planet.”

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the "Petersberg Climate Dialogue in New York" Event

“We have six months to deliver concrete results at COP26 and find a balanced and ambitious package on mitigation, adaptation and finance.”

Secretary-General's remarks at 2021 Petersberg Climate Dialogue [as delivered]

“We have six months until COP26. We must make them count.”

Secretary-General's statement at the Conclusion of the Opening Session of the Leaders Summit on Climate

“I welcome the announcement of new and enhanced nationally determined contributions.”

Secretary-General's video message on International Mother Earth Day 2021

“Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is a chance to set the world on a cleaner, greener, more sustainable path.”

Opening remarks at press conference to launch the "State of the Global Climate in 2020 Report"

“We need radical changes from all financial institutions, public and private, to ensure that they fund sustainable and resilient development for all.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks to Meeting with Leading Mayors Supported by C40 Cities: “Advancing a Carbon-Neutral, Resilient Recovery for Cities and Nations”

“Cities are already succeeding on climate action. The challenge is to speed up, and scale up.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Leaders' Dialogue on the Africa COVID-Climate Emergency: Delivering the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme

“We can provide universal access to energy in Africa primarily through renewable energy.”

Deputy Secretary-General's opening remarks at Climate and Development Ministerial Meeting [as prepared for delivery]

“We must deliver concrete action now to protect the most vulnerable from more severe and frequent climate impacts.”

Secretary-General's video message for Earth Hour 2021

“The United Nations is proud to join in the global effort to mark Earth Hour. It’s a reminder that small actions can make a big difference.”

Secretary-General's video remarks to the 2021 Ministerial on Climate Action, convened by China-EU-Canada

“Together, we must support the communities that are affected, through a just transition that provides decent jobs and a clean environment.”

Secretary-General's video message to Powering Past Coal Alliance Summit

“Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to get in line with the 1.5 degree goal.”

Secretary-General’s statement on the UNFCCC Initial Nationally Determined Contributions Synthesis Report

“2021 is a make or break year to confront the global climate emergency.”

Secretary-General's message marking Second Anniversary of Costa Rica National Decarbonization Plan

“As we strive to expand this coalition, the international community must also turn those pledges into concrete plans.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council - on addressing climate-related security risks to international peace and security through mitigation and resilience building

“We need to embrace a concept of security that puts people at its centre.”

Secretary-General's remarks to event marking the United States rejoining the Paris Agreement

“Today is a day of hope, as the United States officially rejoins the Paris Agreement. This is good news for the United States — and for the world.”

Secretary-General's Remarks at briefing to Member States by incoming COP26 President

“We need every voice at the table. As we collectively address our climate emergency, no voice, and no solution, should be left behind.”

Secretary-General's Remarks to Member States on Priorities for 2021

“Let’s keep building the global coalition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.”

Secretary-General's special address at Davos Agenda

“We need you more than ever to help us change course, end fragility, avert climate catastrophe and build the equitable and sustainable future we want and we need.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Climate Adaptation Summit

“Adaptation cannot be the neglected half of the climate equation.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the COP26 Roundtable on Clean Power Transition

“We must invest in a future of affordable renewable energy for all people, everywhere.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the One Planet Summit

“2021 must be the year to reconcile humanity with nature.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Climate Ambition Summit

“Climate action is the barometer of leadership in today’s world. It is what people and planet need at this time.”

Secretary-General's address at Columbia University: "The State of the Planet"

“Making peace with nature is the defining task of the 21st century. It must be the top, top priority for everyone, everywhere.”

Secretary-General's remarks on Climate Action to European Council on Foreign Relations

“It is essential that the European Union commits to reducing emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030. The Climate Ambition Summit on the five-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement represents a clear opportunity for the EU to present its more ambitious climate plan.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Youth4Climate Virtual Event

“Major and rapid change is exactly what we need in the fight against climate disruption. And no group is more effective in pushing leaders to change course than you.”

Secretary-General's video message for "Finance in Common" Summit

“The decisions we make now will determine the course of the next 30 years and beyond: Emissions must fall by half by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050 to reach the 1.5C goal.”

Secretary-General's remarks at Paris Peace Forum [as prepared for delivery; scroll down for English version]

“2021 must be the year of a leap forward towards carbon neutrality.”

Secretary-General's video message to Green Horizon Summit

“All governments, cities, financial institutions and private businesses must establish their transition plans for net zero emissions by 2050 and start with concrete policies now. Together we can achieve carbon neutrality for a sustainable future.”

Secretary-General's video message for Climate Action Network: ‘World We Want' Public Mobilization Campaign

“There is much work ahead for the global community to build greater climate justice and resilience, as we strive for net-zero emissions by 2050. But I remain optimistic.”

Secretary-General's video remarks to Climate Vulnerable Forum

“All countries are threatened by climate change, but some are more vulnerable than others.”

Secretary-General's video message to Daring Cities Virtual Forum: Urban Leaders and Climate Change

“We need cities to commit to net zero emissions before 2050, and a 45 per cent reduction by 2030.”

Secretary-General's remarks to High-level Roundtable on Climate Ambition

“The climate emergency is fully upon us, and we have no time to waste. The answer to our existential crisis is swift, decisive, scaled up action and solidarity among nations.”

19th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture "The Rise of Renewables: Shining a Light on a Sustainable Future

“As governments mobilize trillions of dollars to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, their decisions will have climate consequences for decades.”

Remarks to International Energy Agency Clean Energy Transition Summit

"It is vital that we bring sharper focus on the need to transition away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future."

Remarks on World Oceans Day

"We have a responsibility to correct our relationship with the oceans."

Opening remarks at virtual press briefing from UN Headquarters

"Recovery needs to go hand-in-hand with climate action."

Remarks to Petersberg Climate Dialogue

"Delayed climate action will cost us vastly more each year in terms of lost lives and livelihoods, crippled businesses and damaged economies."

Opening remarks at press conference on WMO State of the Climate 2019 Report

"We have no time to lose if we are to avert climate catastrophe."

Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks at the New School: "Women and Power"

"Gender equality, including men stepping up and taking responsibility, is essential if we are to beat the climate emergency."

Remarks on Sustainable Development and Climate Change

"The answer to the global climate crisis will come from global solidarity backed by global action."

Remarks at the 33rd African Union Summit

"Africa is the least responsible for climate disruption yet is among the first and worst to suffer."

Opening remarks to the media at the African Union Summit

"Global commitment is needed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, including by the big emitters."

Remarks to Group of Friends on Climate

"Climate action will be both a priority and a driver of the Decade of Action"

Remarks at COP25 event on Climate Action for Jobs

"The green economy is the economy of the future and we need to make way for it right now."

Remarks at COP25 event on Climate Ambition

"We need more ambition, more solidarity and more urgency."

Remarks at High-Level Event on Caring for Climate at COP25

"Let’s make 2020 the year we put the world for a carbon-neutral future"

Press Conference with the Prime Minister of Spain

"There is still a long way to go and we are still running behind climate change."

Remarks at opening ceremony of UN Climate Change Conference COP25

"The decisions we make here will ultimately define whether we choose a path of hope, or a path of surrender..."

Pre-COP25 press conference

"Our war against nature must stop. And we know that that is possible."

Remarks at the closing of High-Level Political Dialogue of the Pacific Island Forum

"What we ask for is not solidarity, it’s not generosity, it is enlightened self-interest from all decision-makers around the world."

Remarks at the Pacific Islands Forum

"We have the blueprints, the frameworks and the plans. What we need is urgency, political will and ambition."

Opening remarks at press encounter with James Shaw, New Zealand Minister for Climate Change

"[M]ove taxes from salaries to carbon [...] subsidies for fossil fuels must end [...] stop the construction of coal power plants from 2020 onwards"

Remarks to Māori and Pasifika youth at event hosted by James Shaw, New Zealand Minister for Climate Change

"[T]he green economy is the economy of the future and the grey economy has no future"

Secretary-General's remarks at High-Level Meeting on Climate and Sustainable Development

"We have the tools to answer the questions posed by climate change, environmental pressure, poverty and inequality."

Secretary-General's remarks at the closing of the High-Level Segment of the Talanoa Dialogue, COP24

"We no longer have the luxury of time."

Secretary-General's remarks on the 2019 Climate Summit

"The Paris Agreement is not a piece of paper."

Secretary-General's remarks at the opening of the COP 24

"Science demands a significantly more ambitious response."

Remarks at High-Level Event on Climate Change

"Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is still possible and will prevent some of the worst-case scenarios."

Remarks at First General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance

"The Climate Summit will provide an opportunity for leaders and stakeholders, both public and private, to demonstrate real climate action and showcase their ambition."

"Climate change is indeed running faster than we are, and we have the risk to see irreversible damage that will not be possible to recover if we don’t act very, very quickly."

Remarks on Climate Change

"The Climate Summit will provide an opportunity for leaders and partners to demonstrate real climate action and showcase their ambition"

Remarks at launch of the New Climate Economy report

"Over 250 investors with $28 trillion dollars in managed assets have signed on to the Climate Action 100+ initiative"

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• Climate Change Speech/Global Warming Speech

Download Long and Short Climate Change Speech Essay in English Free PDF from Vedantu

Earth is the only planet which has variety in weather and climate crucial for survival.  But we humans are killing nature to fulfil our need and greed that causes global warming, eventually leading to climate change. Here, we have provided both long and short Climate Change speech or Global Warming speech along with 10 lines for a brief speech on Global Warming. Students can refer to this article whenever they are supposed to write a speech on Global Warming. 

Long Global Warming Speech

Global Warming refers to the Earth's warming, i.e. rise in the Earth's surface temperature. A variety of human activities, such as industrial pollution and the burning of fossil fuels, are responsible for this temperature rise. These operations emit gases that cause the greenhouse effect and, subsequently, global warming. Climate change, starvation, droughts, depletion of biodiversity, etc. are some of the most important consequences of global warming.

The average surface temperature of the planet has risen by around 0.8 ° Celsius since 1880. The rate of warming per decade has been around 0.15 °-0.2 ° Celsius. This is a worldwide shift in the temperature of the planet and should not be confused with the local changes we witness every day, day and night, summer and winter, etc.

There can be several causes for Global Warming, the GreenHouse Effect is believed to be the primary and major cause. This impact is caused primarily by gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbon, nitrous oxides, etc. In the atmosphere around the Earth, these gases form a cover from which the Sun's hot rays can penetrate the Earth but can not leave. So, in the lower circle of the Earth, the heat of the Sun persists, allowing the temperature to increase.

This is not something new, it is not something we weren’t aware of before. Since childhood, each one of us present here has been made to write a speech on Global Warming in their school/college, at least once. We have been made aware of the disastrous effects through movies, articles, competitions, posters, etc. But what have we done? Recently, the Greta Thunberg's Climate Change speech was making headlines. Greta Thunberg is a 16-year-old teenager who got the chance to speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit. Although, most of us were quick to term Greta Thunberg Climate Change speech as ‘Scathing’ but very few could point out the need for such a brutal reminder. Remember? “We have been made to write a speech on Global Warming since our school days and nothing changed”. Maybe a searing reminder would bring a change and yes, it sure did.

Now, we have the titanic fame, Leonardo DiCaprio, speaking up about climate change in his Oscar speech as well as at the UN. However, Leonardo Dicaprio's Climate Change speech makes us aware of the fact that this has grown beyond individual choices. If we have to fight climate change, industries and corporations have to take decisive large-scale action.

I would like to end my speech by saying that only spreading awareness isn't the answer. It's time to act, as actions yield results.

Short Speech on Global Warming

Today, I am here to deliver a short speech on Global Warming. We all are well aware of Global Warming and how it results in Climate Change. Owing to global warming, there have been cases of severe drought. Regions, where there used to be a lot of rainfall, are seeing less rainfall. The monsoon trend has shifted around the globe. Global warming also causes ice to melt and the level of the ocean to rise, resulting in floods.

Various species are also widely impacted by global warming. Some land organisms are very vulnerable to changes in temperature and environment and can not tolerate extreme conditions. Koalas, for example, are at risk of famine because of climate change. Several fish and tortoise species are susceptible to changes in ocean temperatures and die.

One of the biggest threats to global security is climate change. Climate change knows no borders and poses us all with an existential threat. A significant security consequence of climate change is a rise in the frequency of severe weather events, especially floods and storms. This has an effect on city and town facilities, access to drinking water, and other services to sustain everyday life. It also displaces the population and since 2008, disasters caused by natural hazards have displaced an average of 26.4 million people annually from their homes. 85% of these are weather-related. This is equal to every second of approximately one person displaced.

It is important that we finally stop debating about it. Schools need to stop making students write a speech on Global Warming or Climate Change and focus on making them capable of living a sustainable life. Face it with courage and honesty. 

10 Lines for Brief Speech on Global Warming

Here, we have provided 10 key pointers for Climate Change Speech for Students.

Global warming refers to the above-average temperature increase on Earth.

The primary cause of global warming is the Greenhouse effect.

Climate change is blamed for global warming, as it badly affects the environment.

The most critical and very important issue that no one can overlook is climate change; it is also spreading its leg in India.

India's average temperature has risen to 1.1 degrees Celsius in recent years.

Living creatures come out of their natural environment due to global warming, and eventually become extinct.

Climate change has contributed to weather pattern disruptions across the globe and has led to unusual shifts in the monsoon.

Human actions, apart from natural forces, have also led to this transition. Global warming leads to drastic climate change, leading to flooding, droughts and other climate catastrophes.

The pattern of monsoon winds is influenced by changes in global temperature and alters the time and intensity of rain. Unpredictable climate change impacts the nation's farming and production.

Planting more trees can be a positive step in eliminating the global warming problem.

What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to alterations in Earth's climate, it has been happening since the planet was formed. The Climate is always changing. There are different factors that could contribute to Climate Change, including natural events and human activities.

Factors that cause Climate Change

The sun’s energy output

Volcanic eruptions

Earth’s orbit around the sun

Ocean currents

Land-use changes

Greenhouse gasses emissions from human activity

The most significant factor that contributes to Climate Change is greenhouse gasses emissions from human activity. These gasses form a “blanket” around Earth that traps energy from the sun. This trapped energy makes Earth warm and disturbs the Earth’s climate.

The Impact of Climate Change

Climate change is already happening. It is causing more extreme weather conditions, such as floods and droughts.

Climate change could lead to a loss of biodiversity, as plants and animals are unable to adapt to the changing climate.

Climate change could also cause humanitarian crises, as people are forced to migrate because of extreme weather conditions.

Climate change could damage economies, as businesses and industries have to cope with increased energy costs and disrupted supply chains.

Here are some Tips on How to write a Speech on Climate Change:

Start by doing your research. Climate change is a complex topic, and there's a lot of information out there on it. Make sure you understand the basics of climate change before you start writing your speech.

Write down what you want to say. It can be helpful to draft an outline of your speech before you start writing it in full. This will help ensure that your points are clear and organized.

Be passionate about the topic. Climate change is a serious issue, but that doesn't mean you can't talk about it with passion and enthusiasm. Let your audience know how important you think this issue is.

Make it personal. Climate change isn't just a political or scientific issue - it's something that affects each and every one of us. Talk about how climate change has affected you or your loved ones, and let your audience know why this issue matters to you.

Use visuals to help explain your points. A good speech on climate change can be filled with charts, graphs, and statistics. But don't forget to also use powerful images and stories to help illustrate your points.

Stay positive. Climate change can be a depressing topic, but try not to end your speech on a negative note. Instead, talk about the steps we can take to address climate change and the positive outcomes that could come from it.

Start by defining what climate change is. Climate change is a problem that refers to a broad array of environmental degradation caused by human activities, including the emission of greenhouse gasses.

Talk about the effects of climate change. Climate change has been linked to increased wildfires, more extreme weather events, coastal flooding, and reduced crop yields, among other things.

Offer solutions to climate change. Some solutions include reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, investing in renewable energy sources, and planting trees to help absorb carbon dioxide.

Appeal to your audience’s emotions. Climate change is a problem that affects everyone, and it’s important to get people emotionally invested in the issue.

Make sure your speech is well-organized and easy to follow. Climate change can be a complex topic, so make sure your speech is clear and concise.

FAQs on Climate Change Speech/Global Warming Speech

1. What should be the main focus of my speech? Can I use statistics in my speech?

The main focus of your speech should be on the effects of climate change and the solutions we can enact to address it. However, you can also talk about your personal connection to the issue or how climate change has affected your community. Yes, you can use statistics to support your points, but don’t forget to also use images and stories to help illustrate your points.

2. How much should I talk about the potential solutions to climate change?

You should spend roughly equal time discussing both the effects of climate change and potential solutions. Climate change is a complex issue, and it’s important to provide your audience with both the facts and potential solutions.

3. Can I talk about how climate change has personally affected me in my speech?

Yes, you can talk about how climate change has personally affected you or your loved ones. Climate change is a serious issue that affects everyone, so it’s important to get people emotionally invested in the issue.

4. Are there any other things I should keep in mind while preparing my speech?

Yes, make sure your speech is well-organized and easy to follow. Climate change can be a complex topic, so make sure your speech is clear and concise. Also, remember to appeal to your audience’s emotions and stay positive. Climate change can be a depressing topic, but try not to end your speech on a negative note. Instead, talk about the steps we can take to address climate change and the positive outcomes that could come from it.

5. Where can I find more information about preparing a speech on climate change?

The best place to start is by reading some of the reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). You can also find helpful resources on the websites of Climate Reality Project or Greenpeace.

6. How long should my speech be?

Your speech should be between 5 and 7 minutes in length. Any longer than that, and your audience will start to lose interest. Climate change can be a complex issue, so it’s important to keep your points brief and concise. If you need help organizing your speech, consider using the following outline:

Define what climate change is;

Talk about the effects of climate change;

Offer solutions to climate change;

Appeal to your audience’s emotions.

7. How can I download reading material from Vedantu?

Accessing material from Vedantu is extremely easy and student-friendly. Students have to simply visit the website of  Vedantu and create an account. Once you have created the account you can simply explore the subjects and chapters that you are looking for. Click on the download button available on the website on Vedantu to download the reading material in PDF format. You can also access all the resources by downloading the Vedantu app from the play store.

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• Speech Writing /

Speech on Climate Change For Students

• Updated on  
• Dec 18, 2023

How do you feel when covered completely overhead? It must be suffocating, and in the meanwhile, due to the scale down of oxygen, your brain, after some time, will stop responding due to a deep state of unconsciousness. 

The above situation was just an example to describe the trapping of carbon dioxide. Imagine what will happen if our environment gets trapped with harmful gasses and inhaling oxygen comes with no options. All such adverse effects of climate change can be hazardous for all living beings.

As a burning topic of the current scenario, we will discuss this burning climate change speech for students.

Also Read: Essay on Climate Change

Long Speech On Climate Change

Greetings to all the teachers and students gathered here. Today, I stand before you to address a matter of urgency and global significance—Climate Change. In my climate change speech, I have tried to cover relevant facts, figures, adverse effects and, importantly, how to save our environment from climate change. 

Also Read: Essay on Global Warming 

As per data studies by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there is a continuous increase in global temperature with a comprehensive rise. Hazardous situations of this increase in temperature will follow up in the coming years, too, which is again an unfortunate signal.

Earth signals, which are constant by nature and cannot be reverted, are increasing. 

The rise in drought, floods, wildfires, and utmost rainfall continuously reflects the signals that are not sound indicators. Again, if we talk about numbers and statistics, the sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warned humans about heat-trapping figures of nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) from 1850 to 1900. 

Moreover, the body has warned about the expected reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades.

Now here comes a question, what has led to such an adverse situation? 

Natural reasons such as pollen remains, glacier lengths, ocean sediments and more are some of the naturally occurring processes that contribute a little portion to climate change. But the major contributor to this worst condition, after an industrial revolution, is only created by human activities. 

Regular cutting of forests or deforestation, burning of fossil fuels for releasing energy, regular use of fertilizers in agriculture, and livestock farming are some of the major reasons for climate change in the environment. 

Despite all the adverse effects of global climatic change, many organizations, both private and government, are working for the welfare of climate change. 

However, since humans are responsible for this disaster, we should try our best to curb it in the safest and most secure possible ways; likewise, using less private transportation, switching to e-bikes or zero-emissions vehicles following the practice of reducing, reusing, repair and recycle and practicing more use of plastic free products. 

All such efforts will help curb the ill effects of the climate of the earth and environment. 

Also Read: Environmental Conservation

Also Read: How to Prepare for UPSC in 6 Months?

Deforestation, changes in naturally occurring carbon dioxide concentrations, livestock farming, and burning fossil fuels are major causes of climate change.

Less tree cutting, less dependency on fossil fuels, use of different forms of natural energy, and use of electric vehicles can solve the problem of global climatic change.

Paris Agreement is an agreement between 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) to reduce and mitigate Greenhouse Gas emissions.

Rise in temperature, drought, soil erosion, landslides, and floods are some of the adverse effects of climatic changes in the environment. 

The Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement are important international agreements on climate change.

Related Articles

For more information on such interesting speech topics for your school, visit our speech writing page and follow Leverage Edu.

Deepika Joshi

Deepika Joshi is an experienced content writer with educational and informative content expertise. She has hands-on experience in Education, Study Abroad and EdTech SaaS. Her strengths lie in conducting thorough research and analysis to provide accurate and up-to-date information to readers. She enjoys staying updated on new skills and knowledge, particularly in the education domain. In her free time, she loves to read articles, and blogs related to her field to expand her expertise further. In her personal life, she loves creative writing and aspires to connect with innovative people who have fresh ideas to offer.

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The Climate Question the Next President Will Have to Answer

How will they help Americans deal with the extreme weather battering the country?

Tonight’s presidential debate was held while wildfires rage in Nevada, Southern California, Oregon, and Idaho. Louisiana is bracing for a possible hurricane landfall. After a year of floods and storms across the country, more than 10 percent of Americans no longer have home insurance , as climate risk sends the insurance industry fleeing vulnerable places. Record heat waves have strained infrastructure and killed hundreds of Americans. For millions more, the ravages of climate change are already at their doorstep.

These are all material miseries—tragedies and health hazards and inconveniences—that America’s two presidential candidates could use to connect with voters. Arguably, voters are owed a plan that would address these problems. Yet during the debate, climate discussion did not go far beyond Donald Trump making a scattered mention of solar energy—warning that under a Kamala Harris presidency, the country would “go back to windmills and solar, where they need a whole desert to get some energy to come out,” before adding, incongruously, “I’m a big fan of solar, by the way.” Harris, meanwhile, doubled down on her statement that she would not ban fracking. The moderators did broach the topic, asking the two candidates, “What would you do to fight climate change?” Harris briefly mentioned people losing their homes and insurance rates rising due to extreme weather. And she stressed that “we can deal with this issue”—before speaking about American manufacturing and U.S. gas production reaching historic levels. Trump spoke about tariffs on Mexico-produced cars. Neither mentioned what they would do to cope with the threat of more chaotic weather.

Yet the near-total absence of climate talk in the 2024 presidential election is divorced from the reality the next president will have to face. Harris, if she’s serious about continuing Joe Biden’s legacy, will eventually have to articulate some plan for what should happen next beyond implementing Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the single largest climate policy the country has ever seen. And Trump may not be concerned about raising carbon emissions, but he will have to deal with the reality of climate change, like it or not. The next president will be a climate-disaster president, and will likely be forced by circumstance to answer at least one climate-change question. And at this point, it’s not just “What would you do to fight climate change.” It’s “How will you help Americans handle its effects?”

Right now, America’s political conversation about addressing climate change is effectively on pause. Trump has promised at several rallies to “drill, baby, drill,” and he told oil executives that it would be a “deal” for them to donate $1 billion to his campaign, given the money he would save them by rolling back taxes and environmental regulations. Harris, by contrast, would almost certainly take at least as strong a stance on climate change as Biden has, but her campaign team, at least, appears to have decided that these issues are not politically advantageous to bring up in live events. She has scarcely mentioned climate change, though her platform has generally affirmed she would advance environmental justice, protect public lands, and build on the IRA.

And yet, this year alone, the United States has seen 20 disasters and counting that did more than $1 billion in damage, part of a general upward trend of these high-devastation events. (In the 1980s, the country saw an average of fewer than four such events each year.) How the federal government intends to aid communities affected by storms, floods, and fires should be a standard part of any debate conversation now. Beyond disasters, the candidates could be asked about their plans for dealing with heat: Under the Biden administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration took steps to address, for the first time, the problem of workers dying in extreme heat , for example. Yet the climate dangers facing all Americans go far beyond that and will accelerate in the next four years. What are the candidates’ plans for them? What will happen to the ailing National Flood Insurance Program? How will firefighting forces, now routinely stretched beyond capacity, be supported? Climate chaos is an oncoming train, but levers do exist to slow it down and buffer its impact. Harris’s official platform says that she will increase “resilience to climate disasters.” Neither Trump’s platform nor the GOP’s mentions the topic at all.

Whether the two candidates would try to do anything to slow climate change itself is a different question. Trump’s position is clear: He removed the U.S. from the Paris Agreement once and would likely do so again , blocking climate action on the international stage. Project 2025, a policy document closely affiliated with the Trump campaign, would see federal climate-science and weather-forecasting departments dismantled, along with a long list of environmental policies and the mechanisms to enforce them.

Harris’s intentions are also clear: She would address climate change, though the details on how are fuzzy. The U.S. is newly the world’s top oil and gas producer, drilling more oil now than any country ever has at any point in time. The country is essentially already drill-baby-drilling. This presents a clear contradiction for U.S. climate policy. What would a Harris presidency do about that, if anything? She has already walked back her 2019 campaign pledge to ban fracking, saying that she would not do that if elected president. (The comment, made after Trump attacked her stance in Pennsylvania, a major fracking state, represents one of her most definitive comments yet on anything climate-related.) She repeated that position during the debate, and spoke about the country’s success as an oil producer, emphasizing the importance of relying on “diverse sources of energy so we reduce reliance of foreign oil.”

Harris can certainly tout the record of the Biden administration, which passed the IRA and has been quietly issuing updates on energy-infrastructure policy, such as a recent update on solar-permitting reform. But the IRA on its own is not enough to achieve the U.S.’s emissions-reduction goals or its energy-delivery needs. Harris will surely do something to further meet the moment on climate policy, should she be elected president. But we don’t know what. Trump, meanwhile, would be a major setback for America’s climate future .

For at least some viewers watching tonight’s debate from battened-down Louisiana or burning Iowa or scorching Arizona, those questions are likely top of mind. Even if the climate crisis isn’t most voters’ top issue, it can still swing elections , according to one voter analysis of the 2020 presidential outcome. And more than one-third of U.S. voters say that climate is very important to them in this election. But this isn’t just a question of how people will vote in November. It’s a question of how the next president will confront what is coming, with more and more force every year, for the country.

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Breaking news, harvard, columbia rank last in free speech nonprofit’s scorecard: ‘abysmal’.

For the second year in a row, Harvard University’s “abysmal” free speech climate earned it the lowest ranking among 251 colleges and universities scored by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

“This year, however, Harvard has company. Columbia University ranks 250, also with an overall score of 0.00,” reads the report released Thursday.

New York University, University of Pennsylvania and Barnard College rounded out the bottom-five colleges, according to the report.

FIRE, a pro-First Amendment nonprofit, worked with College Pulse to survey tens of thousands of students about the free speech environments on their college campuses for its annual College Free Speech Rankings.

“We’re trying to provide an indication of where students can get the best experience in college in terms of being exposed to a diverse set of views,” FIRE’s chief research adviser Sean Stevens told Fox News Digital.

A Barnard spokesperson told Fox News Digital the college is “committed to protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression, and to fostering environments where students, faculty, and staff can engage in open and respectful dialogue.”

Barnard has adopted the Chicago Principles, a free speech policy previously endorsed by FIRE, and this school year a faculty committee will develop “a Barnard-specific framework,” the spokesperson continued.

Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

The universities that ranked poorly all experienced incidents in which speech was censored, suppressed or shouted down, Stevens said.

Since FIRE started ranking schools in 2020, the bottom-five colleges and universities have been “consistently bad performers,” he added.

“They rarely stand up for speech,” Stevens said.

“When a controversy arises, the speech typically gets punished. A speaker gets disinvited. A faculty member gets sanctioned in some way, or a student or student organization does.”

The poor performers share another notable trait, according to FIRE’s analysis.

“Most of the students are very upset with how the administration has responded to protests over the past year,” Stevens said.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the war that followed “sent shockwaves through American college and university campuses,” according to the FIRE report. Protesters occupied the South Lawn at Columbia for about two weeks in April before police broke up the encampment.

After the start of the encampments, researchers noticed a large increase in the percentage of Columbia students who said they self-censor in classroom discussions or in conversations with professors or other students.

At the other end of the free speech spectrum, the University of Virginia earned the top ranking. Michigan Technological University, Florida State University, Eastern Kentucky University and Georgia Institute of Technology rounded out the top five.

The full rankings  can be viewed here .

Stevens noted that the schools that performed well tended to have fewer controversies overall and, when controversies did arise, administrators typically defended speech rights.

He said he hopes parents and prospective students use FIRE’s ranking tool to make better-informed choices. The tool also provides a look at the liberal-conservative ratio on campuses, and a deeper look at student attitudes toward free expression.

“Experiencing open inquiry and that process, having to grapple and have their views challenged” sets students up to be better “adult citizens in our country, once they graduate,” Stevens said.

FIRE and College Pulse surveyed students at 257 schools in total, but excluded six from the main rankings and gave them “warning” ratings.

The private colleges, which include Pepperdine University, Hillsdale College, and Brigham Young University, all “have policies that clearly and consistently state” that they prioritize “other values over a commitment to freedom of speech,” according to the FIRE report.

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Climate Forward

5 climate questions for the candidates ahead of the presidential debate.

Here’s what the Times climate team would ask Harris and Trump about climate change, energy policy and the environment.

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By David Gelles

As Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump take the stage for their first, and possibly only, debate ahead of the election on Nov. 5, it’s unclear whether or not climate change will be one of the topics they address.

The two candidates have diametrically opposed views on the broad outlines of that central issue. Harris has referred to global warming as a “crisis” that needs to be addressed with urgency. Trump has called climate change a hoax and vowed to “ drill, baby, drill .”

On a number of more specific points, however, Harris and Trump have offered clues to their policy priorities that provide insights into how each might govern should they win.

If Times climate reporters and editors were moderating the debate, which is hosted by ABC News, here are five questions we would ask, and some background to inform how each candidate might answer.

The United States is currently the world’s biggest producer of both oil and gas, the burning of which are the main contributors to global warming. Would your administration continue working to expand fossil fuel production, or is it time for the U.S. to start moving away from fossil fuels?

Harris has walked back her 2019 pledge to ban fracking, a key way of producing oil and gas. Her softening of this stance reflects economic concerns. While the Biden-Harris administration has worked to promote clean energy, it has also benefited from an economy buoyed by record fossil fuel production. Besides fracking, another key area of focus is liquefied natural gas exports. The Biden administration said it would ban new liquefied natural gas export permits, but that decision is being challenged in court.

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Project 2025 Explained: What To Know About Right-Wing Policy Map For Trump—Ahead Of Tonight’s Debate

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Vice President Kamala Harris is likely to take aim at Project 2025 at Tuesday’s debate against former President Donald Trump, as Democrats and the Harris campaign have lobbed frequent attacks against the wide-ranging blueprint for a potential second Trump term—which Trump has tried to distance himself from, despite his ex-staffers helping assemble it.

Then-President Donald Trump gives a speech at the Heritage Foundation's President's Club Meeting on ... [+] October 17, 2017.

Project 2025, spearheaded by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation with help from more than 100 other conservative groups , is a multi-part plan for the next conservative administration—namely a Trump presidency—which includes a LinkedIn-style database for presidential personnel hopefuls, training programs for executive branch positions and an as-yet-unreleased “playbook” laying out what Trump should do in his first 180 days.

Though the project is led by the Heritage Foundation and other private third-party groups and is not formally tied to Trump, who has tried to distance himself from the operation, its proposals were developed in part by former members of his administration and other Trump allies, and the ex-president has previously praised Heritage for its policy work.

The project has drawn the most attention for its “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900-page proposed policy agenda that describes itself as a “plan to unite the conservative movement and the American people against elite rule and woke culture warriors,” laying out plans for all aspects of the executive branch.

Personnel: Project 2025 broadly proposes to insert far more political appointees who are ideologically aligned with the president into the executive branch—replacing many of the nonpartisan career civil servants who serve in it now—proposing an executive order that would put political appointees into any “confidential, policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating positions” (which Trump previously did at the end of his presidency, but President Joe Biden then overturned it).

Federal Agencies: It proposes a scaled-down federal government, including the abolishment of multiple agencies—including the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—whose remaining departments would be folded into other agencies or privatized, including the Transportation Security Administration.

Transgender Rights: Transgender rights and gender identity beyond biological sex are roundly rejected, with such steps as reinstating the ban on transgender Americans serving in the military, prohibiting public school educators from referring to students by anything other than their birth name and pronouns without parental permission, and ensuring no federal funds are used to provide gender-affirming care.

DEI and LGBTQ Rights: Project 2025 seeks to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from throughout the federal government and in universities, and while it doesn’t outlaw same-sex marriage, it supports “nuclear families” that include a “married mother, father, and their children,” and calls for restricting laws that bar discrimination on the basis of sex to exclude sexual orientation and gender identity.

Climate Change: The proposal would undo much of the federal government’s climate work, including by leaving the Paris Climate Agreement, overhauling the Department of Energy to promote oil and natural gas and deemphasize green energy sources, removing the Department of Agriculture’s focus on sustainability and curtailing climate research.

Abortion: While Project 2025 doesn’t explicitly call for an abortion ban, it would take many steps to restrict the procedure, including directing the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of abortion drug mifepristone, using the Comstock Act to block any abortion equipment or medication from being mailed—which abortion rights advocates have said would be a “backdoor” way to ban abortion—barring federal funds being used to provide healthcare coverage for abortion and requiring states to report all abortions that take place there to the federal government.

Education: Project 2025 emphasizes a “school choice” policy that directs public funds to be used for students to attend private or religious schools, bars “critical race theory” from being taught in federally funded schools and advocates for legislation that would allow parents to sue schools they feel have acted improperly—such as by teaching controversial subjects or requiring students to disclose information about their religious beliefs.

Student Loans: Student loan relief efforts would come to an end—including the public service loan forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans—as the proposal states “borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.”

Big Tech: TikTok would be banned, and the proposal calls for reforming Section 230 —which shields tech companies and social media networks from being sued over content on their platforms—and allowing laws like those passed in Florida and Texas that seek to punish social media companies who ban or suspend users based on their “viewpoints.”

Justice Department: Project 2025 calls for a “top-to-bottom overhaul” of the DOJ and FBI that gets rid of what it calls an “unaccountable bureaucratic managerial class and radical Left ideologues,” proposing an agency that would be more focused on violent crime and filing litigation that’s “consistent with the President’s agenda” and filled with far more political appointees; it also proposes prohibiting the FBI from investigating misinformation or making “politically motivated” moves against U.S. citizens.

Taxes: Project 2025 would seek to get rid of current tax rates and most deductions and credits, instead proposing a 15% rate for anyone under the Social Security wage base ( $168,000 in 2024) and 30% for taxpayers earning more than that—which means the lowest-income taxpayers will now pay more and some higher earners will pay less, and it would also lower the corporate income tax rate to 18%.

Federal Reserve: The project seeks to reform the Federal Reserve by “tak[ing] the monetary steering wheel out of [its] hands and return[ing] it to the people,” which the authors propose could be done by getting rid of the government’s control over the nation’s money entirely—instead leaving it up to banks—or returning to the gold standard, in which the dollar’s value would be tied to a specific weight of gold.

Foreign Relations: Project 2025 emphasizes opposing China, which it describes as “a totalitarian enemy of the United States,” and directs the U.S. to pull out of international organizations when they don’t serve the administration’s interests, including the World Health Organization and various United Nations agencies.

Healthcare: Project 2025 does not seek to overturn the Affordable Care Act, but would make significant cuts to Medicaid and impose work requirements to receive coverage, as well as reform Medicare—including by making Medicare Advantage, a paid supplement to Medicare, the default option for patients.

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Harris and Trump will face off Tuesday for the first presidential debate since President Joe Biden left the race. The vice president is likely to bring up Project 2025, as her campaign has repeatedly linked Trump to the agenda and held it up as a key argument for why voters should oppose Trump. The Harris campaign updated its website Sunday night to add in a range of the Democratic candidate’s policy views , and in each section added a blurb on “Trump’s Project 2025,” contrasting Harris’ agenda with the more extreme right-wing proposal. Tuesday’s debate also comes right after former Project 2025 head Paul Dans—who left the organization amid Trump’s criticism of Project 2025—gave news interviews defending Project 2025’s proposals and criticizing Trump’s opposition to it, telling The New York Times he believes the ex-president should fire his campaign advisors. “They took the bait,” Dans said about Trump and his advisors loudly disavowing Project 2025, which attracted more attention to it, and described the campaign being unprepared for Biden’s departure as “historic campaign malpractice.”

Is Trump Involved With Project 2025?

Trump has denied any connection to Project 2025, claiming on Truth Social last week that he has “nothing to do with them,” has “no idea” who’s behind the plan and finds some of its ideas “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” His campaign advisor Chris LaCivita has also denounced it, calling the effort a “pain in the ass.” But many aren’t buying the ex-president’s claims: The team behind Project 2025 includes 140 people who worked for Trump in his administration, according to CNN , including six former Cabinet secretaries and four people he nominated as ambassadors. Trump has also seemingly endorsed Heritage’s policy work in the past, saying at a 2022 dinner for the Heritage Foundation that the group was “going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do … when the American people give us a colossal mandate.”

What Impact Could Project 2025’s Policies Have?

Experts have warned Project 2025’s proposals could have seismic impacts on how the federal government operates if carried out. In an article for Justia , criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor John May suggested Project 2025’s language endorsing the executive branch being able to “restrain the excesses” of the judicial branch and Congress means “if the President wants to, the President can defy any decision of the Supreme Court, any legislation by Congress, maybe even the act of impeachment and removal from office.”

Who’s Behind Project 2025?

The main team behind Project 2025 includes Heritage Foundation director Paul Gans and former Trump White House personnel leaders Spencer Chretien (who also served as Trump’s special assistant) and Troup Hemenway, according to the project’s website. Other groups listed as participating in the project include ex-Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty University, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Turning Point USA. The 900-page policy agenda was co-authored by a series of conservative figures, with chapters penned by such Trump allies as former Housing Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, former HHS Civil Rights Director Roger Severino and former Trump advisor Peter Navarro, who went to prison in March for contempt of Congress. The Heritage Foundation confirmed July 30 that Dans is stepping down and leaving the organization, saying in a statement he was “moving up to the front where the fight remains.” The Daily Beast reports Dans resigned amid pressure from the Trump campaign, though the Heritage Foundation said only that it had always intended its “policy drafting” work to only last through the party conventions, “and we are sticking to that timeline.” The Heritage Foundation denied reports Project 2025 is shutting down, and said its personnel efforts would continue.

Will Trump Have To Follow Project 2025’s Plans?

Trump will not be under any obligation to follow Project 2025’s proposals if he wins the presidency, though history suggests he’ll listen to at least some of them. The Heritage Foundation made a similar policy proposal for Trump ahead of his presidency in 2016, and boasted two years into his tenure that Trump had already followed 64% of its recommendations, CBS News notes .

Would Project 2025 Change Social Security?

One area that Project 2025 doesn’t touch on is Social Security benefits and any potential cuts to the program, even as proposals outline changes to numerous other government “entitlements.” Changing Social Security and making cuts to its spending has been a priority for the GOP for decades, though the American public has long opposed slashing benefits. Republicans’ efforts have waned under Trump, however, and the ex-president publicly claimed in March he “will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” after he came under fire for suggesting otherwise in an interview with CNBC.

Surprising Fact

While much of Project 2025’s policy agenda concerns federal agencies, the proposal has also gotten attention for its call to outlaw all pornography, which it claims is tied to “the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children” and is not protected under the First Amendment. Project 2025 calls not only for pornography to be made illegal, but also for anyone involved with its production and distribution to be imprisoned, for any librarians or educators who “purvey it” to be registered as sex offenders and for telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its distribution to be shut down.

Key Background

The Heritage Foundation’s practice of laying out a policy roadmap for a future Republican administration actually dates back to the Reagan era, founder Edwin J. Feulner noted in the afterword of the 2025 edition. The organization first laid out a blueprint in 1981 that President Ronald Reagan ultimately adopted, fulfilling half of its recommendations by the end of his first year in office. The Heritage Foundation has continued to come out with blueprints for potential conservative presidents each election since, it notes, and its 2025 Mandate for Leadership was published in 2023. While it came out last year, Project 2025 gained new attention in the past week since Trump disavowed it—sparking a wave of reports highlighting his ties to the figures behind the project that debunk his claims. Democrats have also used the controversial proposal as a key talking point and argument for why the left should unite behind President Joe Biden and focus on defeating Trump, particularly as Biden’s candidacy came under widespread scrutiny in the wake of the president’s poor debate performance in June, sparking his decision to drop out of the race.

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Nature-related risk: legal implications for central banks, supervisors and financial institutions

Keynote speech by frank elderson, member of the executive board of the ecb and vice-chair of the supervisory board of the ecb, at the escb legal conference 2024.

Frankfurt am Main, 6 September 2024

As a lawyer, I am always glad to discuss the novel legal issues affecting the work of central banks and supervisors.

At last year’s conference I spoke to you about climate-related litigation and its impact on the financial sector. [ 1 ] This year I want to talk about the risks that nature degradation poses to the economy and the financial sector.

As I have said before, assessing nature-related risk is not some kind of tree-hugging exercise. We are talking about material financial risks, which – like any other type of risk – must be assessed, analysed and managed. [ 2 ]

Today, I want to focus on the legal implications of nature-related risk for our central banking and supervisory work. I will first outline the growing trend of nature-related litigation. Then I will look at how nature-related risk should be considered in the context of the mandates of central banks and supervisors.

Nature degradation: risks for the economy and the financial sector

Scientists worldwide agree that nature has been declining at an unprecedented rate over the past 50 years. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) already sounded the alarm back in 2019, shortly before the outbreak of the global pandemic. The IPBES report even warned us that nature degradation was exacerbating emerging infectious diseases in wildlife, domestic animals, plants and people. [ 3 ]

The decline of nature is primarily caused by human activity and is being made worse by climate change. Scientists have calculated that humanity is using natural resources 1.7 times faster than ecosystems can regenerate them – in other words, we are consuming resources equivalent to 1.7 planet Earths. [ 4 ]

This decline undermines the planet’s ability to provide ecosystem services, which are the benefits we obtain from nature to support and sustain our society and economies. Examples of ecosystem services include food, drinking water, timber and minerals; protection against natural hazards, such as floods and landslides; or carbon uptake and storage by vegetation. [ 5 ]

The degradation of nature not only threatens these ecosystem services, but also increases the risk of us reaching ecosystem tipping points, i.e. non-linear, self-amplifying and irreversible changes in ecosystem states that can occur rapidly and on a large scale. [ 6 ] Through these tipping points, we are at risk of going beyond the Earth’s safe operating space for sustaining life on the planet. [ 7 ]

From the perspective of central banks and supervisors, the degradation of nature makes our economies, our companies and our financial institutions increasingly vulnerable.

We cannot ignore these vulnerabilities. Indeed, we need to deepen our understanding of how nature-related financial risk affects the economy and the financial system. [ 8 ]

Work is progressing at the ECB: for example, our research has found that 72% of euro area companies are highly dependent on ecosystem services and would experience critical economic problems as a result of ecosystem degradation. [ 9 ] Moreover, research by the European Commission has detailed that several sectors of the European economy – in particular agriculture, real estate and construction, and healthcare – are heavily dependent on nature and thus exposed to associated risks. [ 10 ]

Work is also progressing at international level. The Financial Stability Board recently took stock of supervisory and regulatory initiatives among its members and established that a growing number of financial authorities are considering the potential implications of nature-related risks for the financial sector. [ 11 ] In addition, the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) – a network of 138 central banks and supervisors from around the world – had already acknowledged the relevance of nature-related risks for the mandates of central banks and supervisors back in March 2022. [ 12 ] The NGFS has since developed a conceptual framework offering central banks and supervisors a common understanding of nature-related financial risks and a principle-based risk assessment approach. [ 13 ]

All these efforts are improving our ability to quantify the financial implications of nature degradation. And of course, there are also important legal implications that we need to start talking about.

Nature-related litigation

The first legal implication is the rise in nature-related litigation. [ 14 ] Litigants are starting to understand the link between climate change and nature degradation and are using the legal system to drive policy change.

Building on their successes in the field of climate litigation, [ 15 ] litigants are taking court cases to address the biodiversity crisis, protect carbon sinks, limit deforestation and loss of ocean habitats, and prevent ecosystem degradation. [ 16 ]

In July of this year the NGFS published a report on this new trend to raise awareness among financial institutions, central banks and supervisors. [ 17 ] The report highlighted that while nature-related litigation is still in its infancy, the number of cases is expected to grow rapidly.

The report reiterated that litigation can affect financial institutions, not only where they are directly challenged, but also indirectly, when their counterparties, or the states in which they operate, are subject to such claims. [ 18 ]

The report identified two key categories of nature-related litigation as well as two key drivers.

Categories of nature-related litigation

In terms of categories of litigation, most nature-related cases are being brought against states and public entities, using arguments based on fundamental rights. [ 19 ] This is not surprising given how effective such arguments have been in climate litigation.

Interestingly, however, corporates and banks, too, are already being directly targeted in nature-related litigation. This contrasts to the trends we saw under climate litigation, where cases against the private sector were much slower to start.

First, this may be because climate litigation has offered a blueprint for action for litigants who are seeking innovative ways to protect nature. Second, it may be because nature-related litigation can identify a closer causal connection between the impact of economic activities on local ecosystems and people. It is often easier to pinpoint the damage and attribute responsibility to specific actors. Thanks to new legislation, it is also becoming easier to hold multinational companies liable for harm occurring in remote parts of their global supply chains. And we can even see that litigants are already challenging banks that are alleged to finance such companies. [ 20 ]

Indeed, we can observe a close nexus between corporate litigation and legislation. Litigants are already relying on new corporate sustainability due diligence legislation, [ 21 ] on tort law, anti-money laundering laws [ 22 ] and shareholder rights to bring nature-related claims. The number of such cases is likely to grow as further legislation – such as the EU Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence and the EU Deforestation Regulation – enters into force.

Drivers of nature-related litigation

Looking now at the drivers behind the trend in nature-related litigation, the first is that scientists – and litigants – are developing a much better understanding of the climate-nature nexus. Protecting nature is crucial to mitigating climate change and vice versa. The climate crisis deepens the nature crisis, thus diminishing nature’s ability to mitigate what the UN Secretary General has called “the era of global boiling”. [ 23 ] The scientific consensus on this point may help litigants to strengthen their cases. [ 24 ]

The second driver is that courts are taking, as a given, the findings of climate and environmental science, in the same manner as any other area of technical expertise. Court assessments and rulings are taking into account advanced scientific concepts and sources. We saw this quite clearly in the recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, in the case brought by a group of Swiss grandmothers. [ 25 ] There, the Court based its ruling on the IPCC reports, and took it as a matter of fact that climate change exists, that it poses a serious threat to human rights, and that states are aware and capable of doing something about it. Moreover, the Court held that states have a positive obligation to act, regardless of whether their individual contribution might be a “drop in the ocean” in terms of its ability to affect climate change. [ 26 ]

Relevance of nature degradation for the mandates of central banks and supervisors

This leads me to the next key legal implication of the nature crisis: how will it affect the mandates of central banks and supervisors?

It goes without saying that addressing the nature crisis is primarily up to governments and legislators. However, as I mentioned at the outset, central banks and supervisors also need to consider the nature crisis as a source of risk to the economy, financial system and the individual banks they supervise.

Nature-related risk and banking supervision

A very clear example of this is the way banking supervision is looking at nature-related risks. Back in 2020, the ECB’s guide on supervisory expectations for the risk management of climate-related and environmental [ 27 ] (C&E) risks already highlighted the need for banks to identify, measure and – most importantly – manage nature-related risks, such as water stress and pollution. [ 28 ]

We have been actively following up with banks regarding these supervisory expectations since then. [ 29 ] The first interim deadline fell due in March 2023, when banks were expected to have in place a sound and comprehensive materiality assessment of both climate and nature risks. Since then, we have issued binding supervisory decisions against 28 banks that failed to meet this first interim deadline – with the possibility of imposing periodic penalty payments in the 22 most relevant cases, if the banks don’t remedy this shortcoming in time.

Banks were also expected to meet a second interim deadline in December 2023, and by the end of this year, we expect all banks under our supervision to be fully aligned with all our supervisory expectations on the sound management of C&E risks.

In that respect, nature degradation is already integrated in ECB supervisory work as a risk driver that banks are expected to manage. Rather than considering nature-related risk as a standalone category of risk, we see it as a driver for each traditional type of risk reflected in the Capital Requirements Directive, from credit risk, reputational and operational risk including legal risk, to market and liquidity risk.

Nature-related risk and monetary policy

We must also properly consider nature-related risk in the context of our monetary policy mandate.

First, the nature crisis could have direct implications for price stability – the primary objective of the ECB. One of the papers presented at the annual ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal, in July shows how loss of biodiversity can cause losses to economic output while at the same time decreasing the resilience of output to future biodiversity losses. [ 30 ]

As part of its Climate and Nature Plan 2024-2025, the ECB is conducting further work on the risk posed to the economy by nature loss and degradation. [ 31 ] This will inform our understanding of risks to price stability and financial stability.

Second, it is clear from the Treaties that the ECB must take into account the EU’s policies to address nature degradation when carrying out its mandate. [ 32 ] There are two key legal bases for this: the ECB’s secondary objective in Article 127(1), second sentence, and the transversal Treaty provisions of Articles 11 and 7 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The ECB’s secondary objective states that, without prejudice to price stability, the ECB shall support the general economic policies in the EU, with a view to contributing to the objectives of the EU. These objectives include “the sustainable development of Europe” and “a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment”. It is irrefutable that the EU’s climate policy constitutes part of the general economic policies in the EU. As reiterated in the European Climate Law, the transition to net zero affects every aspect of economic life, in all sectors. Thus, to the extent that nature protection directly contributes to climate crisis mitigation and adaptation – which it often does – the ECB must support the EU’s efforts in this field. In this context it is notable that the EU adopted the groundbreaking Nature Restoration Law earlier this year [ 33 ] and signed up to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (the “Paris Agreement for nature”) in 2022 [ 34 ] – significant developments that could be invoked to argue that nature protection, just like climate policy, constitutes an independent general economic policy. As lawyers, we need to watch this space.

Beyond the secondary objective, the ECB has to comply with two key transversal principles of the Treaties. Article 11 of the TFEU provides that the EU’s environmental protection requirements must be “integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union's policies and activities”. [ 35 ] This imposes an obligation on the ECB to take into account the EU’s policies to protect nature when shaping its own policies and performing its tasks. In addition, under Article 7 of the TFEU, the activities and policies of the ECB need to be consistent with EU law – including EU law on nature and biodiversity.

This does not mean economists should start counting ants in Aragon, butterflies in Bavaria or worms in Wallonia. Instead, economists must develop means to transpose insights from nature science into variables of economic interest like growth, inflation and financial risks.

In developing tools for policy analysis of nature-related risks, the growing availability of data from sustainability disclosures will make it easier for central banks to identify how they need to incorporate nature into their work. Recently adopted legislation, in particular the sustainable finance framework [ 36 ] , creates an entire “ecosystem” of EU legislation that makes the link between nature degradation, the economy and the financial sector – and thus central banks and supervisors – clear and apparent. It leaves us in no doubt that we have the duty and the tools at our disposal to take nature-related risk into account when we exercise our mandate.

Let me conclude.

The economy and the financial sector are vulnerable to nature-related risks. This vulnerability is all the more relevant given the importance of nature in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Time is running out to prepare for the materialisation of nature-related risks. We need to be ready for the impact of these risks, just like we are for climate-related risks – or indeed for any other risk driver.

For that reason, we need to properly consider the legal implications of nature-related risks for the financial sector, and for the mandates of central banks and supervisors.

Thank you for your attention.

Elderson, F. (2023), “ “Come hell or high water”: addressing the risks of climate and environment-related litigation for the banking sector ”, keynote speech at the ECB Legal Conference, 4 September.

Elderson, F. (2023), “ Climate-related and environmental risks – a vital part of the ECB’s supervisory agenda to keep banks safe and sound ”, introductory remarks at the panel on green finance policy and the role of Europe organised by the Federal Working Group Europe of the German Greens, 23 June.

Díaz, S. et al. (eds.) (2019), The global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services, summary for policymakers , IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany.

Lin, D., Hanscom, L., Murthy, A., Galli, A., Evans, M., Neill, E., Mancini, M.S., Martindill, J., Medouar, F.-Z., Huang, S. and Wackernagel, M. (2018), “Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018” , Resources, Vol. 7, No 3, p.58.

NGFS (2024), Nature-related Financial Risks: a Conceptual Framework to guide Action by Central Banks and Supervisors , July.

Marsden, L. et al. (2024), “ Ecosystem tipping points: Understanding risks to the economy and financial system ”, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Policy Report, April.

Elderson, F. (2023), “ The economy and banks need nature to survive ”, The ECB Blog , 8 June; Lagarde, C. (2024), “ Central banks in a changing world: the role of the ECB in the face of climate and environmental risks ”, speech at the Maurice Allais Foundation, 7 June.

Boldrini, S. et al. (2023), “ Living in a world of disappearing nature: physical risk and the implications for financial stability ”, Occasional Paper Series , No 333, ECB, Frankfurt am Main, November.

Cziesielski, M. et al. (2024), Study for a methodological framework and assessment of potential financial risks associated with biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation – Final Report , European Commission, Brussels, March. These sectors are vulnerable to risks such as water scarcity, floods, storms, soil erosion, pests and invasive species, loss of pollinators and disease (including microbial resistance).

FSB (2024), Stocktake on nature-related risks: Supervisory and regulatory approaches and perspectives on financial risk , 18 July.

NGFS (2022), Statement on nature-related financial risks , 24 March.

The NGFS defines nature-related litigation as encompassing all strategic claims brought before judicial bodies, focusing on climate, biodiversity loss and ecosystem services degradation.

NGFS (2023), Climate-related litigation: recent trends and developments , September.

Setzer, J. and Higham, C. (2024), Global trends in climate change litigation: 2024 snapshot , London, June.

NGFS (2024), Nature-related litigation: emerging trends and lessons learned from climate-related litigation , 2 July.

See also Solana, J. (2020), “ Climate change litigation as financial risk ”, Green Finance, Vol. 2, Issue 4, p. 344.

Rodríguez-Garavito, C. and Boyd, D. (2023), “ A Rights Turn in Biodiversity Litigation? ”  Transnational Environmental Law , Vol.12, No 3, p. 498.

See for example Comissão Pastoral da Terra and Notre Affaire à Tous v. BNP Paribas . This case is still pending.

For example, cases have been brought against corporates under the French “duty of vigilance” law, such as ClientEarth, Surfrider Foundation Europe, and Zero Waste France v. Danone and Envol Vert v. Casino . These cases are still pending.

For instance, a complaint has been brought against banks in France, citing financial support to companies implicated in alleged illegal deforestation in the Amazon. A different application has also been filed before the UK courts against an exchange operator, in connection with the trading of metals which are allegedly the proceeds of environmental crimes.

The Secretary-General noted: “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”, see Guterres, A. (2023), “ Press conference by Secretary-General António Guterres on climate ”, 27 July.

For instance, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has emphasised that safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems is fundamental to climate resilient development, in the light of the threats posed by climate change to nature and its roles in adaptation and mitigation. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2022), “Summary for Policymakers” , in IPCC, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 3-33.

European Court of Human Rights (2024), “ Judgment Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland – Violations of the European Convention for failing to implement sufficient measures to combat climate change ”, press release, 9 April.

See also Kotze, L. et al. (2024), “ Courts, climate litigation and the evolution of earth system law ”, Global Policy , 15, 5–22.

Here, I use the terms “environmental” and “nature-related” risk interchangeably.

ECB (2020), Guide on climate-related and environmental risks – Supervisory expectations relating to risk management and disclosure , Frankfurt am Main, November. See also ECB (2022), Good practices for climate-related and environmental risk management – observations from the 2022 thematic review , Frankfurt am Main, November; ECB (2022), Walking the talk: Banks gearing up to manage risks from climate change – results of the 2022 thematic review on climate-related and environmental risks , Frankfurt am Main, November.

Elderson, F. (2024), “ You have to know your risks to manage them – banks’ materiality assessments as a crucial precondition for managing climate and environmental risks ”, ECB Blog , 8 May. For further background, see Elderson, F. (2021), “ Mapping connected dots: how climate-related and environmental risk management is becoming a reality ”, speech at a workshop organised by the International Monetary Fund’s South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center and Monetary and Capital Markets Department, 10 December; Elderson, F. (2022), “ Good, bad and hopeful news: the latest on the supervision of climate risks ”, speech at the 10th Annual Conference on Bank Steering & Bank Management at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, 22 June; Elderson, F. (2023), ““ Running up that hill” – how climate-related and environmental risks turned mainstream in banking supervision and next steps for banks’ risk management practices ”, speech at the ECB Industry Outreach event on Climate-related and Environmental Risk, 3 February; Elderson, F. (2023), “ Climate-related and environmental risks – a vital part of the ECB’s supervisory agenda to keep banks safe and sound ”, speech at the panel on green finance policy and the role of Europe organised by the Federal Working Group Europe of the German Greens, 23 June; Elderson, F. (2024), “ Making banks resilient to climate and environmental risks – good practices to overcome the remaining stumbling blocks ”, speech at the 331st European Banking Federation Executive Committee meeting, 14 March; Elderson, F. (2024), “ Know thyself – avoiding policy mistakes in light of the prevailing climate ”, speech at the Delphi Economic Forum IX, 12 April.

Kuchler, T. et al. (2024), The economics of biodiversity loss , ECB Forum on Central Banking, June.

ECB (2024), Climate and nature plan 2024-2025 at a glance .

O’Connell, M. (2024), “ Birth of a naturalist? Nature-related risks and biodiversity loss: legal implications for the ECB ”, ECB Legal Working Paper Series , No 22, Frankfurt am Main, June.

Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2024 on nature restoration and amending Regulation (EU) 2022/869 (OJ L, 2024/1991, 29.7.2024).

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was agreed on 18 December 2022.

This “principle of integration” is also reflected in Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

In particular, the Taxonomy Regulation targets not only climate mitigation and adaptation, but also four further environmental objectives relevant to nature; the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) defines “sustainable investments” with reference to the impact on biodiversity and nature; and perhaps most importantly, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) imposes substantial disclosure requirements related to nature.

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Live Updates: The First 2024 Presidential Debate Between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

Thanks for joining The New Yorker for its live coverage of the first—and likely only—Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. To receive full coverage of the 2024 campaign between now and Election Day, sign up for our daily newsletter .

Susan B. Glasser

a few seconds ago

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Donald Trump by now, nine years into his career in public life, it’s that his ego invariably gets in the way of what others might consider political good sense. Before the start of his first and likely only debate with Vice-President Kamala Harris, the former President posted a video clip on his social-media feed, along with a quote from an admirer: “Donald Trump is probably the greatest political debater we’ve ever had in American History.” So much for expectations-setting. Read more.

Tyler Foggatt

2 hours ago

Taylor Swift Endorses Kamala Harris

The most famous childless cat lady in the world has spoken. Minutes after Donald Trump and Kamala Harris left the debate stage, while we were all still processing the news that Trump is a “leader on fertilization” and that Harris apparently owns a gun, Taylor Swift posted to her two hundred and eighty-three million followers on Instagram. “Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight,” she wrote. “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”

What was it that finally moved Swift to endorse? Was it Trump’s comments, during the debate, about migrants eating pets? (“They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats.”) Was it the online vitriol that Swift has received, over the past few days, for warmly embracing Brittany Mahomes, a presumed Trump supporter, at the U.S. Open? According to Swift, she felt she needed to speak out after Trump falsely implied that she had endorsed him, posting A.I. generated images of young women wearing “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts and a depiction of Swift herself dressed up as Uncle Sam, with the slogan “Taylor Wants You to Vote for Donald Trump.” As Swift wrote on Instagram, “It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”

Even though Trump has said positive things about Swift in the past, having described her as “very talented” and “unusually beautiful,” his campaign has already tried to dismiss Swift’s endorsement of Harris, with Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt telling the Times that it’s “more evidence that the Democrat party has become the party of the wealthy elite.” It’s an argument that we’ve heard from Trump before, particularly in the 2016 Presidential election, as celebrities lined up behind Hillary Clinton. In that election, Trump so successfully weaponized his opponent’s celebrity endorsements that Swift decided to stay silent. As she told Vogue , “Would I be an endorsement or would I be a liability?”

Swift has figured out the answer to that question. In 2020, she endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket, and her endorsement of Harris in 2024 comes at a time when Swift has never been more popular, powerful, and ever-present. We’ll all be watching the Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday.

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Benjamin Wallace-Wells

4 hours ago

Agreed. I do wonder if Harris will feel that she did enough to make her case on the economy, probably her weakest issue—when she framed her closing statement around an “opportunity economy,” it stuck out a bit in how little we’d heard of that all along. But, look, she baited Trump into incoherence, she emphasized his radicalism, and she just about avoided being effectively called a flip-flopper. The commentators all said this debate was going to be primarily about Harris, that voters have long ago made up their minds about Trump. Well, she won it.

Vinson Cunningham

As far as I can tell, Harris did more of the work she showed up tonight to do. She seemed in control all night, hitting her marks as she went. More than enough against a guy who doubled down on many of the neuroses that he’s turned into his greatest hits. This qualifies as a narrow win for Harris, I think: she certainly didn’t lose any voters and, in places like the Philly and Atlanta suburbs, may have picked one or two up.

Trump’s final words—a dark delusion about marauding immigrants—could have been from his speeches nine years ago. He has not changed. At its core, Harris’s pitch tonight boiled down to this: “I think the American people want better than that, want better than this .” That’s a proposition, perhaps an article of faith, and she applies it to a broad list of issues such as abortion rights, treatment of veterans, decency in public life, and on and on.

“They’ve had three and a half years” is one of Trump’s strongest points, and really gets to the big theme of this election. Who, here, is really the incumbent? Each contestant is trying to saddle the other with that designation, while also, here and there, taking credit for whatever glimmers of good they’d like to claim.

Clare Malone

The closing statements get to the broad-strokes messages of the campaigns: Harris says, “Don’t go back,” whereas Trump correctly points out that she’s not necessarily a change candidate, given that she’s part of the current Administration.

The story of this debate might be Trump missing some opportunities.

I agree, Clare. I’d also say, that’s a failure of Trump’s. The economy and inflation are probably his best issues.

Maybe I’m wrong, but has anyone brought up cost of living or inflation in a substantial ways? Or, like, housing costs? These feel like concrete issues that voters want to hear about. We talked about tariffs at the top of the debate, but I feel like the economy perhaps should have been brought up more. . . .

“But another thing: she won’t improve private insurance”—Trump suddenly remembers a talking point from his briefings.

“Concepts of a Plan” sounds like a hellscape version of my favorite Donny Hathaway album, “Extension of a Man.” Honestly, health care should be a big layup for Harris and the Democrats, but, having achieved the A.C.A., they seem to have dropped the issue almost entirely as the center of a moral and practical appeal to everyday voters, with the always pronounced exception of one Bernie Sanders.

Trump conceding that he doesn’t have a plan by saying, “I have concepts of a plan,” deserves high potential for meme value.

Kamala Harris just said she’s a gun owner. News to anyone else?

In going for an aspirational note, about optimism and what people in this country want, Harris sounded like a candidate from a pre-2016 era. Which is a good thing.

She may be seeing those polls about her losing support among Black men, and feel that she needs to make a more specific appeal to them.

Harris has mostly avoided making race-specific appeals—as you say, Clare, she’s let that pitch fly by plently of times over in the past few weeks. So it’s interesting to see her here, on the one hand, mention the Central Park Five and the birther lie and, on the other hand, label the issue of race as a big distraction from more concrete issues. It’s a bit of a dance.

This section is a reminder of how totally the Democratic Party has accepted the role of embodying both sides of what used to be a bipartisan foreign-policy consensus. They’re both the “strength through peace” hawks and the Samantha Power-style humanitarian interventionists. Depending on how you think our international policy proceeded from, say, 2000 to 2016, that might feel like a lot of baggage—too much—to carry.

This is one of Harris’s weakest arguments of the night. Trump answers her charge that he shouldn’t have negotiated with the Taliban by talking about snipers picking off U.S. troops, eighteen months with no one killed. . . . Not so many points to Trump in this debate, but this is one.

Afghanistan is a real sore point for the Biden Administration for obvious reasons—the troop pullout was a tragic, chaotic, embarrassing episode. Trump’s campaign has really seized on that in the past two weeks or so. The whole dustup at Arlington National Cemetery—the Trump campaign filming the former President with grieving military families—was part of the campaign’s effort to highlight a big failure of the current Administration.

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