Keynote speech for Act Now for an Equitable and Sustainable World (22/9/2021)
“Thank you for the chance to speak at this event!
I have studied and worked with climate action since 2014 concentrating on mitigation which means reducing climate-heating emissions from human activities. We also have to adapt to global environmental change and sadly there will be loss and damage from past and still ongoing pollution.
I understood the situation from three perspectives early on:
First, URGENCY which has mainstreamed nowadays in rhetoric, from the Secretary-General of the United Nations to heads of state, parliaments and even some companies have declared climate emergencies.
Secondly, the RATE and SCALE of impacts such as extreme weather events and climate trends such as drought and sea-level rise that are accelerating also in the Northern Hemisphere — the young people all around the world are very worried because they see and feel the impacts in practice and scientists can attribute them to carbon pollution that has historically come from the industrialization of wealthy countries.
AND thirdly STABILIZATION:
All nations, especially the rich ones with large historical emissions have to act now in respect of equity to reach science and evidence-based net-zero emissions as…
