Honorable heads of state and press and delegates.
My name is Xiye Bastida,
and I am a climate justice activist from Mexico.
Firstly, as I speak, please keep in mind what you heard
from my friend Elizabeth Wathuti about opening our hearts.
Today, I want to talk about the climate crisis
being a generational injustice.
When we talk about the impact
of the climate crisis on future generations,
we speak on them as if those generations were not here,
but we are present.
By 2050, I will be 48 years old,
and when I look out
of the window, I will see
the world you are negotiating right now.
What will that Earth look like?
If we were to stop emissions right now,
we would leave the world
with an increase of 1.1 degrees of warming,
which is already causing immense damage
in the form of floods, wildfires, hurricanes,
biodiversity loss, forced migration and more.
In my home country, Mexico,
there is an increase in the intensity of droughts
and tropical storms, which are themselves exacerbating
present injustices.
And instead of trying to fix the damage prior
generations have caused, we are adding to harm
every day we fail to act,
which represents a deep ethical immorality,
an immorality of disconnect with the place we call home.
Up to 475 million
more people would be affected by climate-related risks
if we get to two degrees of warming instead of 1.5.
And even if we stay at 1.5 degrees, 4.5 billion
people will be exposed to heat waves and water stress.
This is my second Conference of the Parties.
You have been doing this for longer than I've been alive.
I have a simple question:
How many more COPs are you going to have before we take action?
We know exactly what needs to be done,
and it starts by opening our hearts and our spirits. Here
are some of the demands that youth have put together.
We need to keep and reach the goal of 1.5 degrees
by setting goals
for drastic emissions
reductions, starting with the richest countries.
We need to collectively divest from fossil fuels
and stop new fossil-fuel infrastructure.
According to the International Monetary Fund,
governments gave up to 5.2 trillion dollars to fossil
fuel subsidies in 2019.
We need to stop relying on carbon offsets
as a way to counter emissions.
We need to deliver the hundred
billion dollars promised to the most vulnerable nations,
a number that should be 140 to 300 billion starting in 2025.
We need to ensure a just transition to renewable energy
in which workers' rights are upheld.
Together, we must end the political, economic
and social influence of the fossil fuel
industry in decision making, while holding them
accountable for spreading climate misinformation.
We must protect Indigenous peoples' rights to care
for their land, namely the 80% of biodiversity
that is protected under their stewardship.
I would like to invite everyone here to connect
on a personal level to the following statement.
I am in a critical moment in history
in which I have a stake in the future of the planet.
I will be respectful and responsible enough
to listen to the generations of the future and to the best
available science,
and do everything in my power
to leave this world better than I found it,
starting by committing to have my country
do the most to stay below 1.5 degrees of warming
while centering justice
and the protection of frontline communities. Thank you.