Climate change is not only a threat,
it is, above all, an opportunity to create a healthier,
greener and cleaner planet, which will benefit all of us.
We must seize this opportunity.
We can achieve a win-win
in both ecological conservation
and high-quality development.
Fighting climate change calls for innovation,
cooperation and willpower to make the changes
that the world needs.
We need to walk the talk.
If we do this together, we can do this.
When I say climate change, what do you think of?
I think jobs, green jobs.
Green jobs.
We must find a smooth
transition towards a low-carbon economy.
There is no Planet B.
There is no Planet Blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah.
This is not about some expensive politically
correct green act of bunny hugging or blah, blah, blah.
Build back better:
blah, blah, blah. Green economy: blah, blah, blah.
Net zero by 2050:
Blah, blah, blah.
Net zero by 2050:
Blah, blah, blah. Net zero: blah, blah, blah.
Climate neutral: blah, blah, blah.
This is all we hear from our so-called leaders.
Words. Words that sound great.
But so far has led to
no action. Our hopes and dreams
drown in their empty words and promises.
Of course, we need constructive dialogue.
But they've now had 30 years of
blah, blah, blah, and where has that led us?
Over 50% of all
our CO2 emissions have occurred since 1990.
And a third since 2005.
All this while, the media is reporting on what the leaders
say that they are going to do
instead of what they are actually doing.
And they're not holding leaders
accountable for their action — or rather, inaction.
And don't get me wrong, we can still do this.
Change is not only possible, but urgently necessary,
but not if we go on like today.
They say they want "solutions."
But you cannot solve a crisis that you
do not fully understand.
You cannot balance a budget
if you do not count all the numbers.
And as long as we ignore equity and historic emissions,
and as long as we don't include
consumption of imported goods,
burning of biomass, etc. etc.,
and as long as clever accounting is one
of the most efficient ways of reducing emissions,
we won't get anywhere.
And the climate crisis is,
of course, only a symptom of a much larger crisis.
The sustainability crisis, the social crisis,
a crisis of inequality that dates back to
colonialism and beyond.
A crisis based on the idea
that some people are worth more than others,
and therefore have the right to exploit
and steal other people's lands and resources.
And it is very naive to believe that we can solve this crisis
without confronting the roots of it.
Right now, we are still
very much speeding in the wrong direction.
2021 is currently projected to experience the
second-highest emission rise ever.
Only about 2% of governments' recovery
spendings have been allocated to clean-energy measures.
And according to a new report by the U.N., global emissions
are expected to rise by 16% by 2030
compared to 2010 levels.
Our leaders' intentional lack of action is a betrayal
towards all present and future generations.
The people in power cannot claim that they are trying,
because they are clearly not.
As they continue opening up
brand new coal mines, oil fields and pipelines,
pretending to have ambitious climate policies while granting
new oil licenses, exploring enormous future oil fields,
and shamelessly congratulating
themselves while
still failing to come up with even the bare minimum
and long overdue funding to help the most
vulnerable countries deal
with the impacts of the climate crisis.
If this is what they consider to be climate action,
then we don't want it.
They invite cherry-picked young people to meetings
like this to pretend that they are listening to us,
but they are not.
They are clearly not listening to us, and they never have.
Just look at the numbers.
Let's look at the statistics.
The emissions are still rising.
The science doesn't lie.
But of course, we can still turn this around.
It is entirely possible. It will take drastic annual
emission cuts unlike anything the world has ever seen.
And as we don't have the technological solutions
that alone can deliver anything close to that, that
means we will have to change.
We can no longer let
the people in power decide
what is politically possible or not.
We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is.
Hope is not passive.
Hope is not blah, blah, blah.
Hope is telling the truth.
Hope is taking action, and hope always comes from the people.
And we, we the people, we want a safe future.
We want real climate action, and we want climate justice.
Did you hear me?
What do we want?
[Crowd calls back, "Climate justice!"]
When do we want it?
[Crowd calls back, "Now!"]
What do we want?
[Crowd calls back, "Climate justice!"]
When do we want it?
[Crowd calls back, "Now!"]
The leaders like to say, "We can do this."
They obviously don't mean it, but we do. We can do this.
I'm absolutely convinced that we can. But it starts
with the people, it starts with facing the reality
of the situation, as uncomfortable as it may be.
It starts with taking action, and it starts now. Again:
What do we want?
[Crowd calls back, "Climate justice!"]
When do we want it?
[Crowd calls back, "Now!"]
What do we want?
[Crowd calls back, "Climate justice!"]
When do we want it?
[Crowd calls back, "Now!"]
What do we want?
[Crowd calls back, "Climate justice!"]
When do we want it?
[Crowd calls back, "Now!"]
What do we want?
[Crowd calls back, "Climate justice!"]
When do we want it?
[Crowd calls back, "Now!"]
Thank you.