Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
6 February 2006 - Your Highness, [Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashed Al-Maktoum, Vice President
and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates
and Ruler of Dubai]
Your Excellency Mr. Witoelar, [Indonesian
State Minister for the Environment and President,
UNEP Governing Council]
Excellencies,
Dr. Fahad, [Chairman, Zayed Prize]
Fellow prize-winners,
Klaus,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour to be in the United Arab
Emirates to receive this prize, named after
Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose
commitment to the environment was well known
here and around the world.
I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashed Al-Maktoum for his vision
in creating this award, and his generosity
in serving as its patron.
I must also offer my sincere condolences
to His Highness and to the people of Dubai
for the loss of the former Ruler, Sheikh
Maktoum Bin Rashed Al-Maktoum, whose death
last month came as a shock to us all. During
this period of grief, our condolences go
especially to Sheikh Mohammed and the rest
of the Maktoum family.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To stand here in the UAE, and especially
in Dubai, is to stand on the soil of one
of the world’s great economic miracles.
It is a country whose leaders and people
have learned the importance of using scarce
resources efficiently.
It is a land that knows the importance of
human and intellectual capital. Here in
the heart of the world’s oil region, Dubai
itself derives less than 10% of its income
from oil.
And it is a civilization grounded in strong
cultural and spiritual values, which recognizes
that sustainable development will not succeed
without caring for and conserving the world’s
natural capital.
That understanding lies at the heart of
the United Nations’ global mission of peace
and development.
Yet all too often, the environment has been
viewed as a domain of limitless bounty --
a realm over which humans could exercise
heedless dominion. And protecting the environment
has been considered an afterthought, or
even a luxury.
Again and again, from antiquity to the modern
era, humankind has been shown the folly
of such assumptions.
Today, we understand that respect for the
environment is one of the main pillars of
our fight against poverty, and essential
for achieving the Millennium Development
Goals.
But still, despite some real improvements
in some parts of the world, our efforts
to safeguard the global environment and
make a transition to sustainable development
lag behind what is truly needed.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment that
was completed last year under the auspices
of the United Nations and others – and which
is itself a winner of one of this year’s
Zayed prizes – shows the terrible toll human
activities are inflicting on the resources
and networks that support life on earth.
Prosperity built on destruction is not prosperity
at all, but rather only a temporary reprieve
from tragedy. There will be little peace,
and much greater poverty, if this assault
continues.
Action on climate change is particularly
urgent. Scientists largely agree that without
major policy changes in the next few years,
we face a future filled with danger.
Now that the Kyoto Protocol has entered
into force, the world has a dynamic tool
for stabilizing and reducing emissions and
supporting climate-friendly projects in
developing countries.
Moreover, the world is about to embark on
two parallel tracks aimed at intensifying
global action. The first will involve discussions
among the parties to the Protocol, and will
look at binding targets for the industrialized
countries beyond 2012. The second will be
a dialogue involving all parties to the
wider Climate Change Convention, and will
look at a broader range of cooperative action,
involving technology, adaptation and voluntary
action by developing countries.
I urge all countries to take those discussions
seriously. Regional and other initiatives
are important, but the Framework Convention
remains the multilateral framework for action.
And as these processes unfold, let us be
clear what is at stake: the carbon-based
economy is like an uncontrolled experiment
with the global climate, with serious risks
for ecosystems, business and human health.
We must cut emissions. But we must also
help the poorest of the poor and the vulnerable
adapt to the climate change that is already
under way.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A change in mindset is equally important.
The world remains locked into short-term
thinking, from election cycles in politics
to profit-taking in the business world.
Sustainable development cries out for a
long-term perspective.
The world remains captive to the old idea
that we face a choice between economic growth
and conservation. In fact, growth cannot
be sustained without conservation. One of
two jobs worldwide -- in agriculture, forestry
and fisheries -- depends on the sustainability
of ecosystems. Health problems cannot be
fixed by the health sector alone. Our fight
against poverty, inequality and disease
is directly linked to the health of the
earth itself.
And the world remains perilously wedded
to oil and other fossil fuels. The challenge
here is twofold.
First: we must husband this resource, and
use it efficiently, while limiting the impact
on the environment by delivering cleaner
coal and using cleaner ways to generate
fossil fuels. All humankind must get the
maximum benefit from every barrel, gallon
or litre consumed – much as we try to do
with water, where “more crop per drop” is
our mantra. Prince Zayed himself understood
that the true value of oil is in what it
can do to improve the lives of people. Two
billion of our fellow human beings today
lack affordable energy services.
Second, we must look ahead, beyond the finite
life of fossil fuels, and promote clean,
alternative, renewable sources of energy
such as solar, wind and biofuel. The soaring
demand for oil is concentrating the minds
of the world as never before. Today’s high
oil prices make the economic and environmental
arguments even more mutually supportive.
This country and this region are well placed
to spearhead the effort. Oil-rich countries
can invest in new technologies and in the
transfer of existing ones to poorer countries.
Doing so would be prudent self interest
as well as a mark of solidarity with those
less well off. It would be a breath of fresh
air for the planet. The Middle East was
the main energy supplier of the last century.
I hope that through your investments and
leadership, you will become a primary source
of alternative energy in this one.
Everyone has a role to play in changing
the mindset.
Governments have immense capacity to set
the rules and create the tax and other incentives
that will promote sustainable development.
Developed countries in particular -- with
their wealth and power -- need to take the
lead.
Businesses have unparalleled ability to
innovate and to steer behaviour – and capital
flows -- in the right directions. They should
do even more to support green technologies
and make them one of tomorrow’s growth industries.
I urge institutional investors and pension
fund managers to continue their efforts
to reward companies that have a long-term
vision to deal with environmental risks
and opportunities. The UN Global Compact
corporate citizenship initiative has been
working very closely to embed environmental
principles in corporate activities and global
markets. I am glad that so many of them
are showcasing their work at an exhibition
elsewhere in this hall.
And let us not forget people power: consumers;
voters determined to exercise their democratic
rights; legions of citizens’ groups and
their skill at popular mobilization and
carrying out small-scale projects at the
local level. It is appropriate that one
of this year’s Zayed prizes is being awarded
to the head of one such organization.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tomorrow, the representatives of nearly
160 countries -- including some 125 environment
ministers -- will gather for the UN Environment
Programme’s Governing Council and Global
Ministerial Environment Forum. Both figures
reflect unprecedented participation.
I can think of no better time than now for
you, some of the world’s leading political
actors, to act on the understanding that
ecosystem services underpin all our hopes
for defeating poverty, stimulating economic
development and building a more stable world.
Political energy is another of the world’s
renewable resources. Our challenge -- and
your challenge -- is to tap into it far
more than we have. We need to stop being
so economically defensive, and start being
more politically courageous.
I can think of no better use of the funds
bestowed by this generous prize than devoting
them to the cause of sustainable development.
Accordingly, I plan to use the award as
seed money for a foundation I will establish
to work in Africa for agriculture and girls’
education. Agriculture, because Africa’s
people need a green revolution. And girls’
education, because there is no more effective
tool for development.
Finally, I can think of no better place
than here, in the heart of the Middle East,
to add a few words about the anger felt
by many Muslims about the recent publication
of caricatures which they see as insulting
to their religion.
I understand, and share, their anguish.
But it cannot justify violence, least of
all attacks on innocent people.
Once again, I appeal to Muslims to accept
the apology that has been offered, and to
act as I am sure Almighty God, who is compassionate
and merciful, would wish them to do – that
is, to act with calm and dignity, to forgive
the wrong they have suffered, and to seek
peace rather than conflict. And I urge all
who have authority or influence in different
communities, both religious and secular,
and men and women of goodwill in all faiths
and communities, to engage in dialogue and
build a true alliance of civilizations,
founded on mutual respect.
Dear friends,
Thank you again for the honour of this prize.
I am proud to accept it on behalf of the
men and women of the United Nations, who
are strongly dedicated to their mission
of peace, tolerance and human dignity, and
who work valiantly to improve both the natural
and the human environments. Thank you very
much.
