Excerpts from the Secretary-General's
Remarks to Sydney University
Sydney, 8 September
2011
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Around the world, sustainable
peace must be built on sustainable development.
Next month, the 7 billionth
citizen of our world will be born.
For that child, and
for all of us, we must keep working to fight
poverty, create decent jobs, and provide
a dignified life while preserving the planet
that sustains us.
That is why I have said
that the sustainable development agenda
is the agenda for the 21st century.
Above all, that means
connecting the dots between challenges such
as climate change and water scarcity, energy
shortages, global health issues, food insecurity
and the empowerment of the world's women
On the surface, these
might seem like distinct issues - but they
are linked. And we have to find those linkages.
In Korea, we have a
proverb that says it doesn't matter how
many beads you have, without a thread, you
will never make a necklace.
We need to find the
thread.
Tragically, today we
see many examples where we failed to do
that early enough or fast enough.
Look no further than
the crisis in the Horn of Africa. Conflict,
high food prices and drought have left more
than 12 million lives at risk.
As Australia knows too
well, extreme weather events such as increased
floods, rains and droughts continue to grow
more frequent and intense as climate change
accelerates.
They not only devastate
lives, but wipe out infrastructure, institutions,
and budgets. Some economists predicted the
flood damage could exceed $30 billion.
From the Horn of Africa
to Western Europe; from Pakistan to the
Pacific Islands; we see the urgency for
action.
Competition between
communities and countries for scarce resources
- especially water - is increasing.
Environmental migrants
are starting to reshape the human geography
of the planet. This will only increase as
sea-levels rise and deserts advance.
I know, once again,
there are the skeptics. Those who say climate
change is not real.
But the facts are clear:
Global greenhouse gas emissions continue
to rise. Millions of people are suffering
today from climate impacts. Climate change
is very real.
For those still in doubt,
I invite them to take a trip to Kiribati.
Look into the eyes of
the young boy who told me: "I am afraid
to sleep at night" because of the rising
water.
Talk with the parents
who told me how they stood guard fearing
that their children might drown in their
own homes when the tide came in.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In this struggle, there
is one resource that is scarcest of all
- and that is time.
We are running out of
time.
In the first fifty years
of this century, the population will increase
by 50 percent and global emissions will
need to decrease by 50 percent. This is
what I call the 50 - 50 - 50 challenge.
Climate change is showing
that the old model is not only dated, it
is dangerous.
We cannot burn our way
to the future.
The skeptics may say:
Why bother? No one else is acting on this
challenge, why should we?
But scores of countries
are heading down a lower-carbon path because
they know it is good for their economies
and good for the health and well-being of
their people.
China has pledged to
reduce its carbon intensity by up to 45
per cent in the next decade. It now produces
half of the world's wind and solar equipment
and is growing its capacity rapidly. It
has already surpassed the United States
to lead the world in installed clean-energy
capacity.
The European Union has
committed to cut emissions by at least 20
per cent of 11000 levels by 2020, regardless
of what actions other countries take. The
EU's commitment has not waivered, even in
the face of tough economic times.
Mexico has launched
a plan to reduce 51 million tons of CO2
next year alone. That's equal to four and
a half years of pollution from all the vehicles
in Mexico City.
Korea devoted 80 percent
of its stimulus program to green growth,
an investment that stands to deliver major
economic as well as environmental benefits.
India is also in the
race, planning to increase investment in
the clean energy sector by more than 350
percent in this decade.
Japan is aiming to create
1.4 million new green jobs.
Denmark is moving to
be free of fossil fuels by 2050.
Brazil committed to
reducing its deforestation rate by 80 per
cent by the year 2020 and is years ahead
of schedule - even as it also continues
to prove renewable energy can power a major
economy.
Around the world, wind,
solar and geothermal energy are becoming
more cost competitive.
Local governments and
large corporations are contributing as well.
Look no further than
right here in Australia, the Sustainable
Sydney initiative to reduce carbon emissions
in this city by 70 percent over the next
20 years.
These actions are vital
on their own - but they can also inspire
progress in the global negotiations, creating
a virtuous cycle.
This is a global race
to save the planet. But it is also a race
to see which countries and economies will
forge the path to creating green sustainable
jobs.
I hope Australia will
lead the way - for your own good, as well
as that of our planet.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me say a word about
the global negotiations.
Once again, the skeptics
will say: there is nothing to show for it.
Once again, they are
wrong.
The Bali Roadmap in
2007 launched comprehensive negotiations
that have led to global progress.
Starting with Copenhagen
in 2009 and affirmed in Cancun last year,
for the first time ever all countries agreed
on the goal of limiting global temperature
rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.
On monitoring and verification,
Governments are working to strengthen accountability
and openness through an agreed mechanism
to ensure that all countries are adhering
to their pledges.
For the first time ever,
countries have made large pledges on financing.
On forests, Governments
have agreed on an action plan to Reduce
Emissions from Deforestation and forest
Degradation - REDD plus.
Cancun also delivered
an adaptation framework to protect the vulnerable,
and a mechanism for sharing green technologies.
This wide-ranging global
process has given us important tools. We
need to keep building, including at the
climate conference later this year in Durban.
We need ambitious mitigation
targets that ensure that any increase in
global average temperature remains below
2 degrees Centigrade.
Moreover, given that
the first commitment period of the Kyoto
Protocol expires next year, a political
formula must be found to ensure that a robust,
post 2012 climate regime is agreed upon,
and is not delayed by negotiating gamesmanship.
At the same time, climate
finance, the sine qua non for progress,
must move from concept to reality with delivery
of "fast start" financing and
agreement on sources of long-term financing.
Next year's Rio+20 UN
Conference on Sustainable Development will
also be an important opportunity.
We must make sustainable
development for all our top priority. It
is only in that broader framework that we
can address climate change and the needs
of our citizens.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Whether it is securing
peace or sustainable development, our chances
of success have multiplied when we have
grasped the promise of the future and acted
together.
When the first President
of the Security Council - Australian Norman
Makin - gaveled that historic meeting to
order 65 years ago, he said something that
speaks to us today. He said:
"Cooperation rests
on the will of the people of the world to
work for peace. A real will to peace must
spring not from fear, but from positive
faith in the brotherhood of men."
In other words, in people;
in nations united ; in you and in me.
A few weeks ago, I went
back to my home village in Korea. I visited
my high school. To this day, I remember
the advice my teacher gave to me.
He said: Put your head
above the clouds - but keep your feet on
the ground.
Dream. Look over the
horizon. Be an idealist. But, at the same
time, be grounded and practical.
That is my advice to
you. Be bold. Be brave. Think big.
Use your passion to
make a difference - to be a part of something
larger than yourself.
Don't let the cynics
hold you back. You can change the world.
Let us harness that
spirit ... that positive faith - to build
a better world for all.
Let us all ensure a
fair go for everyone.
