"Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for ECO, the Environmental Childrens Organisation
we are a group of 12 and 13 year olds trying to make a difference
Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me.
We've raised all the money to come here ourselves to come 5000 miles to tell you adults that you must change your ways
coming up here today I have no hidden agenda
I am fighting for my future
Losing my future is not like losing an election or a few points on the stock market
I am here to speak for all generations to come
I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard
I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet
because they have nowhere left to go
I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in our ozone
I am afraid to breathe the air because I don't know what chemicals are in it
I used to go fishing in Vancouver my home with my dad
until just a few years ago we found the fish full of cancers
and now we hear of animals and plants going extinct
every day vanishing forever
in my life I have dreamt of seeing the great heards of wild animals jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterflies
but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see
did you have to worry of these things when you were my age?
all this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions
I am only a child and I don't have all the solutions but I want you to realise, neither do you
you don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer
you don't know how to bring the salmon back up in our dead stream
you don't know how to bring back an animal now extinct
and you can't bring back the forest that once grew where there is now a desert
if you don't know how to fix it please stop breaking it
here you may be delegates of your government
business people, organisers, reporters, or politicians
but really you're mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers
aunts and uncles and all of you are someone's child
I am only a child yet I know that we are all part of a family 5 billion strong
in fact 30 million species strong
and borders and governments will never change that
I am only a child yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world
towards a single goal
in my anger I am not blind and in my fear I am not afraid of telling the world how I feel
in my country we make so much waste
we buy and throw away, buy and throw away
buy and throw away and yet northern countries will not share with the needy
even when we have more than enough we are afraid to share
we are afraid to let go of some of our wealth
In Canada we live the privileged life with plenty of food, water and shelter
we have watches, bicycles, computers and television sets
the list could go on for two days
Two days ago here in Brazil we were shocked when we spent time with some children living on the streets
this is what one child told us
'I wish I was rich and if I were I would give all the street children food
clothes, medicines, shelter, and love and affection'
if a child on the streets who has nothing is willing to share why are we who have everything still so greedy?
I can't stop thinking that these are children my own age, that it makes a tremendous difference where you a born
that I could be one of those children living in the favelas of Rio
I could be a child starving in Somalia or a victim of war in the Middle East
a begger in India
I am only a child yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent on finding environental answers
ending poverty and finding treaties what a wonderful place this earth would be
At school even in kindergarten you teach us how to behave in the world
You teach us not to fight with others, to work things out
to respect others, to clean up our mess
not to hurt other creatures, to share not be greedy
then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?
Do not forget why you are attending these conferences
who you're doing this for
We are your own children
You are deciding what kind of a world we are growing up in
Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying
'Everythings going to be alright, it's not the end of the world and we're doing the best we can'
but I don't think you can say that to us anymore
Are we even on your list of priorities?
My dad always says 'You are what you do, not what you say'
Well what you do makes me cry at night
You grown ups say you love us but I challenge you please make your actions reflect your words
Thank you