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Four Powerful Climate Change Speeches to Inspire You

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Looking to be inspired to take action on climate change? Watch these four powerful climate change speeches, and get ready to change the world.

Climate change is the most pressing concern facing us and our planet. As such, we need powerful action, and fast, from both global leaders and global corporations, right down to individuals.

I’ve got over 70 climate change and sustainability quotes to motivate people and inspire climate action. But if it is more than quotes you need then watch these four impassioned climate change speeches. These speeches are particularly good if you are looking for even more inspiration to inspire others to take climate action.

The Sustainability Speeches To Motivate You

Here are the speeches to know – I’ve included a video of each speech plus a transcript to make it easy to get all the information you need. Use the quick links to jump to a specific speech or keep scrolling to see all the speeches.

Greta Thunberg’s Climate Change Speech at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit

Leonardo dicaprio’s climate change speech at the 2014 un climate summit, yeb sano’s climate change speech at the united nations climate summit in warsaw, greta thunberg’s speech at houses of parliament.

In September 2019 climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the U.N.’s Climate Action Summit in New York City with this inspiring climate change speech:

Here’s the full transcript of Greta Thunberg’s climate change speech. It begins with Greta’s response to a question about the message she has for world leaders.

My message is that we’ll be watching you.

This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you’re doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe.

The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50% chance of staying below 1.5°C, and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

Fifty per cent may be acceptable to you. But those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO 2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist.

So a 50% risk is simply not acceptable to us — we who have to live with the consequences.

To have a 67% chance of staying below a 1.5°C global temperature rise – the best odds given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the world had 420 gigatons of CO 2 left to emit back on January 1st, 2018. Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatons.

How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just ‘business as usual’ and some technical solutions? With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO 2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8 and a half years.

There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.

We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.

Leonardo DiCaprio gave an impassioned climate change speech at the 2014 UN Climate Summit. Watch it now:

Here’s a transcript of Leonardo DiCaprio’s climate change speech in case you’re looking to quote any part of it.

Thank you, Mr Secretary General, your excellencies, ladies and gentleman, and distinguished guests. I’m honoured to be here today, I stand before you not as an expert but as a concerned citizen. One of the 400,000 people who marched in the streets of New York on Sunday, and the billions of others around the world who want to solve our climate crisis.

As an actor, I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters often solving fictitious problems.

I believe humankind has looked at climate change in that same way. As if it were fiction, happening to someone else’s planet, as if pretending that climate change wasn’t real would somehow make it go away.

But I think we know better than that. Every week, we’re seeing new and undeniable climate events, evidence that accelerated climate change is here now .  We know that droughts are intensifying.  Our oceans are warming and acidifying, with methane plumes rising up from beneath the ocean floor. We are seeing extreme weather events, increased temperatures, and the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets melting at unprecedented rates, decades ahead of scientific projections.

None of this is rhetoric, and none of it is hysteria. It is fact. The scientific community knows it. Industry and governments know it. Even the United States military knows it. The chief of the US Navy’s Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, recently said that climate change is our single greatest security threat.

My friends, this body – perhaps more than any other gathering in human history – now faces that difficult task. You can make history or be vilified by it.

To be clear, this is not about just telling people to change their light bulbs or to buy a hybrid car. This disaster has grown BEYOND the choices that individuals make. This is now about our industries, and governments around the world taking decisive, large-scale action.

I am not a scientist, but I don’t need to be. Because the world’s scientific community has spoken, and they have given us our prognosis. If we do not act together, we will surely perish.

Now is our moment for action.

We need to put a price tag on carbon emissions and eliminate government subsidies for coal, gas, and oil companies. We need to end the free ride that industrial polluters have been given in the name of a free-market economy. They don’t deserve our tax dollars, they deserve our scrutiny. For the economy itself will die if our ecosystems collapse.

The good news is that renewable energy is not only achievable but good economic policy. New research shows that by 2050 clean, renewable energy could supply 100% of the world’s energy needs using existing technologies, and it would create millions of jobs.

This is not a partisan debate; it is a human one. Clean air and water, and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation – if, admittedly, a daunting one.

We only get one planet. Humankind must become accountable on a massive scale for the wanton destruction of our collective home. Protecting our future on this planet depends on the conscious evolution of our species.

This is the most urgent of times, and the most urgent of messages.

Honoured delegates, leaders of the world, I pretend for a living. But you do not. The people made their voices heard on Sunday around the world and the momentum will not stop. And now it’s YOUR turn, the time to answer the greatest challenge of our existence on this planet is now.

I beg you to face it with courage. And honesty. Thank you.

The Philippines’ lead negotiator  Yeb Sano  addressed the opening session of the UN climate summit in Warsaw in November 2013. In this emotional and powerful climate change speech he called for urgent action to prevent a repeat of the devastating storm that hit parts of the Philippines:

Transcript of Yeb’s Climate Change Speech

Here’s a transcript of Yeb’s climate change speech:

Mr President, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the resilient people of the Republic of the Philippines.

At the onset, allow me to fully associate my delegation with the statement made by the distinguished Ambassador of the Republic of Fiji, on behalf of G77 and China as well as the statement made by Nicaragua on behalf of the Like-Minded Developing Countries.

First and foremost, the people of the Philippines, and our delegation here for the United Nations Climate Change Convention’s 19 th  Conference of the Parties here in Warsaw, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your expression of sympathy to my country in the face of this national difficulty.

In the midst of this tragedy, the delegation of the Philippines is comforted by the warm hospitality of Poland, with your people offering us warm smiles everywhere we go. Hotel staff and people on the streets, volunteers and personnel within the National Stadium have warmly offered us kind words of sympathy. So, thank you Poland.

The arrangements you have made for this COP is also most excellent and we highly appreciate the tremendous effort you have put into the preparations for this important gathering.

We also thank all of you, friends and colleagues in this hall and from all corners of the world as you stand beside us in this difficult time.

I thank all countries and governments who have extended your solidarity and for offering assistance to the Philippines.

I thank the youth present here and the billions of young people around the world who stand steadfastly behind my delegation and who are watching us shape their future.

I thank civil society, both who are working on the ground as we race against time in the hardest-hit areas, and those who are here in Warsaw prodding us to have a sense of urgency and ambition.

We are deeply moved by this manifestation of human solidarity. This outpouring of support proves to us that as a human race, we can unite; that as a species, we care.

It was barely 11 months ago in Doha when my delegation appealed to the world… to open our eyes to the stark reality that we face… as then we confronted a catastrophic storm that resulted in the costliest disaster in Philippine history.

Less than a year hence, we cannot imagine that a disaster much bigger would come. With an apparent cruel twist of fate, my country is being tested by this hellstorm called Super Typhoon Haiyan, which has been described by experts as the strongest typhoon that has ever made landfall in the course of recorded human history.

It was so strong that if there was a Category 6, it would have fallen squarely in that box. Up to this hour, we remain uncertain as to the full extent of the devastation, as information trickles in an agonisingly slow manner because electricity lines and communication lines have been cut off and may take a while before these are restored.

The initial assessment shows that Haiyan left a wake of massive devastation that is unprecedented, unthinkable, and horrific, affecting 2/3 of the Philippines, with about half a million people now rendered homeless, and with scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of a tsunami, with a vast wasteland of mud and debris and dead bodies.

According to satellite estimates, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also estimated that Haiyan achieved a minimum pressure between around 860 mbar (hPa; 25.34 inHg) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated Haiyan to have attained one-minute sustained winds of 315 km/h (195 mph) and gusts up to 378 km/h (235 mph) making it the strongest typhoon in modern recorded history.

Despite the massive efforts that my country had exerted in preparing for the onslaught of this monster of a storm, it was just a force too powerful, and even as a nation familiar with storms, Super Typhoon Haiyan was nothing we have ever experienced before, or perhaps nothing that any country has every experienced before.

The picture in the aftermath is ever so slowly coming into clearer focus. The devastation is colossal. And as if this is not enough, another storm is brewing again in the warm waters of the western Pacific. I shudder at the thought of another typhoon hitting the same places where people have not yet even managed to begin standing up.

To anyone who continues to deny the reality that is climate change, I dare you to get off your ivory tower and away from the comfort of your armchair.

I dare you to go to the islands of the Pacific, the islands of the Caribbean and the islands of the Indian Ocean and see the impacts of rising sea levels; to the mountainous regions of the Himalayas and the Andes to see communities confronting glacial floods, to the Arctic where communities grapple with the fast dwindling polar ice caps, to the large deltas of the Mekong, the Ganges, the Amazon, and the Nile where lives and livelihoods are drowned, to the hills of Central America that confront similar monstrous hurricanes, to the vast savannahs of Africa where climate change has likewise become a matter of life and death as food and water becomes scarce.

Not to forget the massive hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern seaboard of North America. And if that is not enough, you may want to pay a visit to the Philippines right now.

The science has given us a picture that has become much more in focus. The IPCC report on climate change and extreme events underscored the risks associated with changes in the patterns as well as the frequency of extreme weather events.

Science tells us that simply, climate change will mean more intense tropical storms. As the Earth warms up, that would include the oceans. The energy that is stored in the waters off the Philippines will increase the intensity of typhoons and the trend we now see is that more destructive storms will be the new norm.

This will have profound implications on many of our communities, especially who struggle against the twin challenges of the development crisis and the climate change crisis. Typhoons such as Yolanda (Haiyan) and its impacts represent a sobering reminder to the international community that we cannot afford to procrastinate on climate action. Warsaw must deliver on enhancing ambition and should muster the political will to address climate change.

In Doha, we asked, “If not us then who? If not now, then when? If not here, then where?” (borrowed from Philippine student leader Ditto Sarmiento during Martial Law). It may have fell on deaf ears. But here in Warsaw, we may very well ask these same forthright questions. “If not us, then who? If not now, then when? If not here in Warsaw, where?”

What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness. The climate crisis is madness.

We can stop this madness. Right here in Warsaw.

It is the 19 th  COP, but we might as well stop counting because my country refuses to accept that a COP30 or a COP40 will be needed to solve climate change.

And because it seems that despite the significant gains we have had since the UNFCCC was born, 20 years hence we continue to fail in fulfilling the ultimate objective of the Convention. 

Now, we find ourselves in a situation where we have to ask ourselves – can we ever attain the objective set out in Article 2 – which is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system? By failing to meet the objective of the Convention, we may have ratified the doom of vulnerable countries.

And if we have failed to meet the objective of the Convention, we have to confront the issue of loss and damage.

Loss and damage from climate change is a reality today across the world. Developed country emissions reduction targets are dangerously low and must be raised immediately. But even if they were in line with the demand of reducing 40-50% below 1990 levels, we would still have locked-in climate change and would still need to address the issue of loss and damage.

We find ourselves at a critical juncture and the situation is such that even the most ambitious emissions reductions by developed countries, who should have been taking the lead in combatting climate change in the past two decades, will not be enough to avert the crisis.

It is now too late, too late to talk about the world being able to rely on Annex I countries to solve the climate crisis. We have entered a new era that demands global solidarity in order to fight climate change and ensure that the pursuit of sustainable human development remains at the fore of the global community’s efforts. This is why means of implementation for developing countries is ever more crucial.

It was the Secretary-general of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 1992, Maurice Strong who said that “History reminds us that what is not possible today, may be inevitable tomorrow.”

We cannot sit and stay helpless staring at this international climate stalemate. It is now time to take action. We need an emergency climate pathway.

I speak for my delegation. But more than that, I speak for the countless people who will no longer be able to speak for themselves after perishing from the storm. I also speak for those who have been orphaned by this tragedy. I also speak for the people now racing against time to save survivors and alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the disaster.

We can take drastic action now to ensure that we prevent a future where super typhoons are a way of life. Because we refuse, as a nation, to accept a future where super typhoons like Haiyan become a fact of life. We refuse to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, having to count our dead, become a way of life. We simply refuse to.

We must stop calling events like these as natural disasters. It is not natural when people continue to struggle to eradicate poverty and pursue development and get battered by the onslaught of a monster storm now considered as the strongest storm ever to hit land. It is not natural when science already tells us that global warming will induce more intense storms. It is not natural when the human species has already profoundly changed the climate.

Disasters are never natural. They are the intersection of factors other than physical. They are the accumulation of the constant breach of economic, social, and environmental thresholds.

Most of the time disasters are a result of inequity and the poorest people of the world are at greatest risk because of their vulnerability and decades of maldevelopment, which I must assert is connected to the kind of pursuit of economic growth that dominates the world. The same kind of pursuit of so-called economic growth and unsustainable consumption that has altered the climate system.

Now, if you will allow me, to speak on a more personal note.

Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in my family’s hometown and the devastation is staggering. I struggle to find words even for the images that we see from the news coverage. I struggle to find words to describe how I feel about the losses and damages we have suffered from this cataclysm.

Up to this hour, I agonize while waiting for word as to the fate of my very own relatives. What gives me renewed strength and great relief was when my brother succeeded in communicating with us that he has survived the onslaught. In the last two days, he has been gathering bodies of the dead with his own two hands. He is hungry and weary as food supplies find it difficult to arrive in the hardest-hit areas.

We call on this COP to pursue work until the most meaningful outcome is in sight. Until concrete pledges have been made to ensure mobilisation of resources for the Green Climate Fund. Until the promise of the establishment of a loss and damage mechanism has been fulfilled. Until there is assurance on finance for adaptation. Until concrete pathways for reaching the committed 100 billion dollars have been made. Until we see real ambition on stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. We must put the money where our mouths are.

This process under the UNFCCC has been called many names. It has been called a farce. It has been called an annual carbon-intensive gathering of useless frequent flyers. It has been called many names. But it has also been called “The Project To Save The Planet”. It has been called “Saving Tomorrow Today”. We can fix this. We can stop this madness. Right now. Right here, in the middle of this football field.

I call on you to lead us. And let Poland be forever known as the place we truly cared to stop this madness. Can humanity rise to the occasion? I still believe we can.

Finally, in April 2019, Greta spoke at the Houses of Parliament in the UK. Here she gave this powerful climate change speech to the UK’s political leaders:

Transcript of Greta’s Climate Change Speech

Here is the full transcript of Greta’s climate change speech:

My name is Greta Thunberg. I am 16 years old. I come from Sweden. And I speak on behalf of future generations.

I know many of you don’t want to listen to us – you say we are just children. But we’re only repeating the message of the united climate science.

Many of you appear concerned that we are wasting valuable lesson time, but I assure you we will go back to school the moment you start listening to science and give us a future. Is that really too much to ask?

In the year 2030, I will be 26 years old. My little sister Beata will be 23. Just like many of your own children or grandchildren. That is a great age, we have been told. When you have all of your life ahead of you. But I am not so sure it will be that great for us.

I was fortunate to be born in a time and place where everyone told us to dream big. I could become whatever I wanted to. I could live wherever I wanted to. People like me had everything we needed and more. Things our grandparents could not even dream of. We had everything we could ever wish for and yet now we may have nothing.

Now we probably don’t even have a future anymore.

Because that future was sold so that a small number of people could make unimaginable amounts of money. It was stolen from us every time you said that the sky was the limit and that you only live once.

You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to. And the saddest thing is that most children are not even aware of the fate that awaits us. We will not understand it until it’s too late. And yet we are the lucky ones. Those who will be affected the hardest are already suffering the consequences. But their voices are not heard.

Is my microphone on? Can you hear me?

Around the year 2030, 10 years 252 days and 10 hours away from now, we will be in a position where we set off an irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, that will most likely lead to the end of our civilisation as we know it. That is unless, in that time, permanent and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society have taken place, including a reduction of CO 2 emissions by at least 50%.

And please note that these calculations are depending on inventions that have not yet been invented at scale, inventions that are supposed to clear the atmosphere of astronomical amounts of carbon dioxide.

Furthermore, these calculations do not include unforeseen tipping points and feedback loops like the extremely powerful methane gas escaping from rapidly thawing arctic permafrost.

Nor do these scientific calculations include already locked-in warming hidden by toxic air pollution. Nor the aspect of equity – or climate justice – clearly stated throughout the Paris Agreement, which is absolutely necessary to make it work on a global scale.

We must also bear in mind that these are just calculations. Estimations. That means that these “points of no return” may occur a bit sooner or later than 2030. No one can know for sure. We can, however, be certain that they will occur approximately in these timeframes because these calculations are not opinions or wild guesses.

These projections are backed up by scientific facts, concluded by all nations through the IPCC. Nearly every single major national scientific body around the world unreservedly supports the work and findings of the IPCC.

Did you hear what I just said? Is my English OK? Is the microphone on? Because I’m beginning to wonder.

During the last six months, I have travelled around Europe for hundreds of hours in trains, electric cars, and buses, repeating these life-changing words over and over again. But no one seems to be talking about it, and nothing has changed. In fact, the emissions are still rising.

When I have been travelling around to speak in different countries, I am always offered help to write about the specific climate policies in specific countries. But that is not really necessary. Because the basic problem is the same everywhere. And the basic problem is that basically nothing is being done to halt – or even slow – climate and ecological breakdown, despite all the beautiful words and promises.

The UK is, however, very special. Not only for its mind-blowing historical carbon debt but also for its current, very creative, carbon accounting.

Since 1990 the UK has achieved a 37% reduction of its territorial CO 2 emissions, according to the Global Carbon Project. And that does sound very impressive. But these numbers do not include emissions from aviation, shipping, and those associated with imports and exports. If these numbers are included the reduction is around 10% since 1990 – or an average of 0.4% a year, according to Tyndall Manchester. And the main reason for this reduction is not a consequence of climate policies, but rather a 2001 EU directive on air quality that essentially forced the UK to close down its very old and extremely dirty coal power plants and replace them with less dirty gas power stations. And switching from one disastrous energy source to a slightly less disastrous one will of course result in a lowering of emissions.

But perhaps the most dangerous misconception about the climate crisis is that we have to “lower” our emissions. Because that is far from enough.

Our emissions have to stop if we are to stay below 1.5-2 ° C of warming. The “lowering of emissions” is of course necessary but it is only the beginning of a fast process that must lead to a stop within a couple of decades or less. And by “stop” I mean net-zero – and then quickly on to negative figures. That rules out most of today’s politics.

The fact that we are speaking of “lowering” instead of “stopping” emissions is perhaps the greatest force behind the continuing business as usual. The UK’s active current support of new exploitation of fossil fuels – for example, the UK shale gas fracking industry, the expansion of its North Sea oil and gas fields, the expansion of airports as well as the planning permission for a brand new coal mine – is beyond absurd.

This ongoing irresponsible behaviour will no doubt be remembered in history as one of the greatest failures of humankind.

People always tell me and the other millions of school strikers that we should be proud of ourselves for what we have accomplished. But the only thing that we need to look at is the emission curve. And I’m sorry, but it’s still rising. That curve is the only thing we should look at.

Every time we make a decision we should ask ourselves; how will this decision affect that curve? We should no longer measure our wealth and success in the graph that shows economic growth, but in the curve that shows the emissions of greenhouse gases. We should no longer only ask: “Have we got enough money to go through with this?” but also: “Have we got enough of the carbon budget to spare to go through with this?” That should and must become the centre of our new currency.

Many people say that we don’t have any solutions to the climate crisis. And they are right. Because how could we? How do you “solve” the greatest crisis that humanity has ever faced? How do you “solve” a war? How do you “solve” going to the moon for the first time? How do you “solve” inventing new inventions?

The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do. We must stop the emissions of greenhouse gases. The hardest because our current economics are still totally dependent on burning fossil fuels, and thereby destroying ecosystems in order to create everlasting economic growth.

“So, exactly how do we solve that?” you ask us – the schoolchildren striking for the climate.

And we say: “No one knows for sure. But we have to stop burning fossil fuels and restore nature and many other things that we may not have quite figured out yet.”

Then you say: “That’s not an answer!”

So we say: “We have to start treating the crisis like a crisis – and act even if we don’t have all the solutions.”

“That’s still not an answer,” you say.

Then we start talking about circular economy and rewilding nature and the need for a just transition. Then you don’t understand what we are talking about.

We say that all those solutions needed are not known to anyone and therefore we must unite behind the science and find them together along the way. But you do not listen to that. Because those answers are for solving a crisis that most of you don’t even fully understand. Or don’t want to understand.

You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before. Like now. And those answers don’t exist anymore. Because you did not act in time.

Avoiding climate breakdown will require cathedral thinking. We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.

Sometimes we just simply have to find a way. The moment we decide to fulfil something, we can do anything. And I’m sure that the moment we start behaving as if we were in an emergency, we can avoid climate and ecological catastrophe. Humans are very adaptable: we can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses.

We children are not sacrificing our education and our childhood for you to tell us what you consider is politically possible in the society that you have created. We have not taken to the streets for you to take selfies with us, and tell us that you really admire what we do.

We children are doing this to wake the adults up. We children are doing this for you to put your differences aside and start acting as you would in a crisis. We children are doing this because we want our hopes and dreams back.

I hope my microphone was on. I hope you could all hear me.

Hopefully, these climate change speeches will encourage you to take action in your local community. If you need more inspiration then head to my post on the best TED Talks on climate change , my guide to the best YouTube videos on climate change , and the sustainability poems to inspire you.

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Wendy Graham is a sustainability expert and the founder of Moral Fibres, where's she's written hundreds of articles on since starting the site in 2013. She's dedicated to bringing you sustainability advice you can trust.

Wendy holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Geography and an MSc (with Distinction) in Environmental Sustainability - specialising in environmental education.

As well as this, Wendy brings 17 years of professional experience working in the sustainability sector to the blog.

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Read Greta Thunberg's full speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit

Teen environmental activist Greta Thunberg spoke at the United Nations on Monday about climate change, accusing world leaders of inaction and half-measures.

Here are her full remarks:

My message is that we'll be watching you.

This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet, you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words and yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency, but no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act then you would be evil and that I refuse to believe.

The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50 percent chance of staying below 1.5 degrees and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

Fifty percent may be acceptable to you, but those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of equity and climate justice.

They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist.

So a 50 percent risk is simply not acceptable to us, we who have to live with the consequences.

How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just business as usual and some technical solutions? With today's emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than eight and a half years.

There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable and you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

You are failing us, but the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you and if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.

We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up and change is coming, whether you like it or not.

Climate change: Oh, it's real.

We still have a lot to learn about climate change, about why it's happening and what that means. But one thing is clear: It's real, alright. These talks provide a primer on the issue of our times.

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The case for stubborn optimism on climate

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The link between climate change, health and poverty

The energy Africa needs to develop -- and fight climate change

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What do you think? Leave a respectful comment.

Gretchen Frazee Gretchen Frazee

• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/read-climate-activist-greta-thunbergs-speech-to-the-un

Read climate activist Greta Thunberg’s speech to the UN

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg chastised world leaders Monday for failing younger generations by not taking sufficient steps to stop climate change.

“You have stolen my childhood and my dreams with your empty words,” Thunberg said at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York.

Thunberg traveled to the U.S. by sailboat last month so she could appear at the summit. She and other youth activists led international climate strikes on Friday in an attempt to garner awareness ahead of the UN’s meeting of political and business leaders.

Read Greta Thunberg’s speech below:

This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, and yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering, people are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?

For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you’re doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight? You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency, but no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil and that I refuse to believe.

The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in ten years only gives us a 50 percent chance of staying below 1.5 degrees and the risk of setting up irreversible chain reactions beyond human control. Fifty percent may be acceptable to you, but those numbers do not include tipping points most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution, or the aspects of equity and climate justice.

They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist. So a 50 percent risk is simply not acceptable to us. We who have to live with the consequences. To have a 67 percent chance of staying below the 1.5 degree of temperature rise, the best odds given by the IPCC, the world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on January 1, 2018.

Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatons. How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just business as usual and some technical solutions? With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO2 that entire budget will be gone is less than 8 and a half years. There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today because these numbers are too uncomfortable and you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

You are failing us, but young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this, right here, right now, is where we draw the line. The world is waking up, and change is coming whether you like it or not.

Gretchen Frazee is a Senior Coordinating Broadcast Producer for the PBS NewsHour.

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Climate Action: It’s time to make peace with nature, UN chief urges

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The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has described the fight against the climate crisis as the top priority for the 21st Century, in a passionate, uncompromising speech delivered on Wednesday at Columbia University in New York.

The landmark address marks the beginning of a month of UN-led climate action, which includes the release of major reports on the global climate and fossil fuel production, culminating in a climate summit on 12 December, the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Nature always strikes back

Mr. Guterres began with a litany of the many ways in which nature is reacting, with “growing force and fury”, to humanity’s mishandling of the environment, which has seen a collapse in biodiversity, spreading deserts, and oceans reaching record temperatures.

The link between COVID-19 and man-made climate change was also made plain by the UN chief, who noted that the continued encroachment of people and livestock into animal habitats, risks exposing us to more deadly diseases.

And, whilst the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic has temporarily slowed emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, levels of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane are still rising, with the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere at a record high. Despite this worrying trend, fossil fuel production – responsible for a significant proportion of greenhouse gases – is predicted to continue on an upward path.

‘Time to flick the green switch’

The appropriate global response, said the Secretary-General, is a transformation of the world economy, flicking the “green switch” and building a sustainable system driven by renewable energy, green jobs and a resilient future.

One way to achieve this vision, is by achieving net zero emissions (read our feature story on net zero for a full explanation, and why it is so important). There are encouraging signs on this front, with several developed countries, including the UK, Japan and China, committing to the goal over the next few decades.

Mr. Guterres called on all countries, cities and businesses to target 2050 as the date by which they achieve carbon neutrality – to at least halt national increases in emissions - and for all individuals to do their part.

With the cost of renewable energy continuing to fall, this transition makes economic sense, and will lead to a net creation of 18 million jobs over the next 10 years. Nevertheless, the UN chief pointed out, the G20, the world’s largest economies, are planning to spend 50 per cent more on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.

Put a price on carbon

For years, many climate experts and activists have called for the cost of carbon-based pollution to be factored into the price of fossil fuels, a step that Mr. Guterres said would provide certainty and confidence for the private and financial sectors.

Companies, he declared, need to adjust their business models, ensuring that finance is directed to the green economy, and pension funds, which manage some $32 trillion in assets, need to step and invest in carbon-free portfolios.

Far more money, continued the Secretary-General, needs to be invested in adapting to the changing climate, which is hindering the UN’s work on disaster risk reduction. The international community, he said, has “both a moral imperative and a clear economic case, for supporting developing countries to adapt and build resilience to current and future climate impacts”.

Everything is interlinked

The COVID-19 pandemic put paid to many plans, including the UN’s ambitious plan to make 2020 the “super year” for buttressing the natural world. That ambition has now been shifted to 2021, and will involve a number of major climate-related international commitments.

These include the development of a plan to halt the biodiversity crisis; an Oceans Conference to protect marine environments; a global sustainable transport conference; and the first Food Systems Summit, aimed at transforming global food production and consumption.

Mr. Guterres ended his speech on a note of hope, amid the prospect of a new, more sustainable world in which mindsets are shifting, to take into account the importance of reducing each individual’s carbon footprint.

Far from looking to return to “normal”, a world of inequality, injustice and “heedless dominion over the Earth”, the next step, said the Secretary-General, should be towards a safer, more sustainable and equitable path, and for mankind to rethink our relationship with the natural world – and with each other.

You can read the full speech here .

Our planet is in a state of climate emergency.But I also see hope.There is momentum toward carbon neutrality. Many cities are becoming greener. The circular economy is reducing waste. Environmental laws have growing reach. And many people are taking #ClimateAction. pic.twitter.com/dDAHH279Er António Guterres, UN Secretary-General antonioguterres December 2, 2020

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‘You Have Stolen My Dreams and My Childhood’: Greta Thunberg Gives Powerful Speech at UN Climate Summit

I n an emotional speech at the United Nations during the Climate Action Summit on Monday, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg appealed to world leaders about the grave need to stop the effects of climate change.

“You all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?” she said. “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, and yet, I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.”

Thunberg grew tearful, as she continued to condemn what she sees as the lack of action on part of leaders around the world to halt climate change. “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?”

The 2019 Climate Action Summit kicked off at the UN on Monday, where world leaders gathered to discuss serious strategies to mitigate climate change. Representatives of participating nations were told by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to come up with “concrete, realistic plans” to further their commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and get to net zero emissions by 2050.

Thunberg cited more than 30 years of scientific evidence showing the consequences of a perpetually warming globe and delivered searing criticism of politicians who were aware of the science, but still did nothing.

“You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that,” she said. “Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil, and that I refuse to believe.”

Thunberg spoke at the UN following her appearance at the Global Climate Strike in New York City on Friday where she addressed the crowd of protestors , saying, “Our house is on fire. We will do everything in our power to stop this crisis from getting worse.”

Speaking to the world leaders at the climate summit Monday, Thunberg echoed her earlier message and offered a warning. “You are failing us. But young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you, and if you choose to fail us, I say, we will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this.”

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16 Ted Talks on Climate Change to Watch in 2023

Since 1984, the nonprofit organisation TED has been devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks that cover topics ranging from science and business to global issues in more than 100 languages. In recent years, several speakers – from Al Gore and Allan Savory to Greta Thunberg and Naomi Klein – have started covering topics around global warming and the environment to spread awareness on some of the biggest issues of our times. Read on for a list of the most powerful and thought-provoking Ted Talks on climate change. 

1. How to Fight Desertification and Reverse Climate Change  – by Allan Savory

With more than 8 million views, this 2013 speech on desertification is by far the most popular Ted Talk on climate change on our list. A Zimbabwean scientist and livestock farmer, Allan Savory made a significant breakthrough in understanding the degradation and desertification of grassland ecosystems and spends his time promoting holistic management of grasslands around the world. 

In his 22-minute talk , he discusses the dangers of desertification, a phenomenon that affects almost two-thirds of the world. He talks about the two main methods currently used to prevent desertification and the problems that arise from them. One way is by facilitating the natural movement of herds, a way to enable periodical and biological decay of grassland and allowing new growth each year. Another method is the burning of dead material as a way to allow grass to regrow. Especially the second one releases huge quantities of pollutants, proving that it is indeed an inefficient way of tackling desertification. His solution to this is what he describes as “holistic planned grazing”, a method through which enough carbon can be taken out of the atmosphere and stored in the grassland soils to take us back to pre-industrial levels of CO2. Check out his speech to find out about how this innovative solution could help us shape a better future.

2. Your Kids Might Live on Mars. Here’s How They’ll Survive – by Stephen Petranek

Held in March 2015, Petranek’s Ted Talk discusses the reasons why we should invest in explorations of other planets and specifically Mars, believed to be the most liveable place inside our solar system aside from Earth. 

Petranek is a journalist and technology forecaster who untangles emerging technologies to predict which will become fixtures of our future lives and which could potentially save us as our planet becomes more inhospitable. The journalist is profoundly convinced that within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. “Humans will survive no matter what happens on Earth,” Petranek says in his provocative talk . “We will never be the last of our kind.”

3. The Disarming Case to Act Right Now on Climate Change – by Greta Thunberg

In November 2018, the world’s most popular climate activist held a memorable speech at Stockholm’s Ted Talk on climate change. Because of her efforts in leading a global movement of young activists – Fridays for Future – in 2019 she was named Person of the Year as well as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by TIME magazine.  

In her talk, Greta Thunberg discusses why climate change is one of the biggest threats to our existence, making her point on why it is crucial that global leaders rise up to the challenge and start taking action to stop global warming. The young activist is profoundly convinced that rich nations are responsible for climate change and need to be held accountable for their reckless actions that are destroying our planet. While hope is an important factor in our fight against global warming, the one thing we need more than hope is action: “Once we start to act, hope is everywhere.” – she says. 

  You might also like: Fridays for Future: How Young Climate Activists Are Making Their Voices Heard

4. This Country Isn’t Just Carbon Neutral: It’s Carbon Negative – by Tshering Tobgay

Between 2013 and 2018, Tshering Tobgay was the President of the People’s Democratic Party in Bhutan – the planet’s first carbon-negative country – and an advocate of the holistic approach to development known as Gross National Happiness.

In his 2016 Ted Talk on climate change, Tobgay perfectly describes the reasons behind the happiness of Bhutan’s population and the reasons why people there are thriving: “Our enlightened monarchs have worked tirelessly to develop our country, balancing economic growth carefully with social development, environmental sustainability, and cultural preservation, all within the framework of good governance.” – he says. Despite being one of the world’s smallest economies, the nation is a leader in sustainable development and an example to follow for all countries. The former president stresses the importance of forests, explaining that Bhutan’s constitution demands that a minimum of 60% of the country’s total land shall remain under forest cover for all time. Forests there sequester more than three times the amount of carbon the country produces, making it in fact the world’s first carbon-negative nation. Tobgay ends his memorable speech by highlighting the issue of climate injustice : “My country and my people have done nothing to contribute to global warming, but we are already bearing the brunt of its consequences.” 

  You might also like: Tasmania Becomes Third in the World to Reach Negative Carbon

5. What’s Hidden Under the Greenland Ice Sheet? – by Kristin Poinar

Researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and expert on ice sheet modelling, Kristin Poinar uses remote sensing and numerical models to study the interaction of meltwater with ice flow, especially on the Greenland Ice Sheet. 

In her 2017 Ted Talk , the glaciologist describes the consequences of the rapid melting of Greenland’s ice sheet , which humans would have never thought could lose mass into the ocean this quickly. While the amount of ice that Greenland has lost since 2002 is just a small fraction of what that ice sheet holds, the consequences of this phenomenon are unimaginable. In the next 80 years, scientists predict that the melting of glaciers around the world will lead to global sea levels rising at least 20 centimetres to as much as one meter, and maybe more. This would have catastrophic consequences on coastal communities, with hundreds of cities at risk of flooding and millions of lives at stake.

6. The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Fight Climate Change: Talk About It – by Katharine Hayhoe

Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scientist, a professor at Texas Tech University, and chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy.  Hayhoe is a strong believer in the power of actively discussing an issue. For her, conversations are the best way to spark change. Even though 70% of Americans agree that the climate is changing, less than one-third talk about it. Yet, she believes that we do not have to be scientists to talk about climate change. The best way to initiate change is not by uttering data and facts that scientists have been uttering for the last 150 years. Instead, we should focus on connecting over shared values like family, community, and religion and prompting people to realise that they already care about a changing climate. The reluctance to accept our responsibility has nothing to do with the scientific basis, but with our ideology and identity – Hayhoe argues in her thought-provoking Ted Talk .

7. Averting the Climate Crisis – by Al Gore

Al Gore is an American politician and environmentalist who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under president Bill Clinton. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management and the founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit devoted to solving the climate crisis. 

Deeply devoted to spreading awareness about climate change, in February 2006 he held a powerful Ted Talk discussing different ways that individuals can address climate change immediately. In his 15-minute speech, the former vice president presented some effective solutions to slowing down global warming, from switching to hybrid cars and rethinking the transportation system around the world to switching to green electricity and becoming better consumers. He also outlined the idea of offsetting carbon , pushing organisations and individuals to compensate for the climate impact of their greenhouse gas emissions by supporting projects that reduce or store carbon emissions.

8. A New Way to Remove CO2 From the Atmosphere – by Jennifer Wilcox

If you want to learn more about the topic of carbon removal, you cannot miss Jennifer Wilcox’s Ted Talk . The work of the renowned Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute focuses on minimising the negative impacts of humankind on our natural environment by testing methods of carbon capture, one of the most efficient ways we have to mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on our planet.

In her inspiring speech, the engineer presents an amazing technology that would allow us to scrub carbon from the atmosphere by using chemical reactions that capture and reuse CO2 in much the same way trees do, just on a much larger scale. She also highlights the importance of scaling up carbon capture technologies in a bid to reduce the still very high costs associated with their development and suggests that more regulations and subsidies as well as the introduction of a carbon tax would help alleviate one of the biggest environmental challenges of our times. 

  You might also like: ​​ The Feasibility and Future of Carbon Capture and Storage Technology

9. Climate Change Will Displace Millions. Here’s How We Prepare – by Colette Pichon Battle

Millions of people are expected to be displaced by the climate crisis due to rising sea levels and swaths of agricultural land rendered useless because of erosion , land disputes and droughts, among others. It is estimated that nearly 180 million people in South Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa could become climate refugees by the end of the century. 

In an emotional Ted Talk , Louisiana native Colette Pichon Battle discusses this often overlooked topic. She covers the issues related to the term “refugees”, often wrongly used to depict exclusively those crossing international borders, thus preventing social integration of those left out. The disaster recovery lawyer also highlights the need to r eframe our understanding of the problem: Climate change – she says – is not the problem but a symptom of a failed economic system of extraction benefiting few. Therefore, if we want to survive the next phase of our human existence, we will need to restructure our social and economic systems to develop our collective resilience.

10. How to Transform Apocalypse Fatigue Into Action on Global Warming – by Per Espen Stoknes

Next on our list of Ted Talks on climate change is Per Espen Stoknes’ speech on the importance of climate action. The Norwegian psychologist and politician weaves together psychology and economics in imaginative ways, often revolving around our human relationships with the natural world and each other. 

In his informative Ted Talk , he describes five inner defences that prevent people from actively engaging with climate change: distance, doom, cognitive dissonance, denial, and our own identity. He then goes on to present ways in which we can move beyond them and toward a more brain-friendly type of climate communication that can help us make caring for our planet feel personable, doable, and empowering.

11. We Need to Track the World’s Water Like We Track the Weather – by Sonaar Luthra

Sonaar Luthra is the founder and CEO of Water Canary, a company that measures climate-related water risk and helps implement solutions for organisations and communities facing 21st-century water security challenges.

Given his expertise, it comes as no surprise that the entrepreneur used his speech to raise awareness about the need to fund the development of weather services for water to solve one of the biggest environmental issues of our lifetime : water scarcity. By allowing us to forecast water shortages and risks, t hese systems can help us implement rationing before reservoirs run dry. Addressing water shortages is extremely important, considering that s ome 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to water, and by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages.

  You might also like: Water Shortage: Causes and Effects

12. Can Seaweed Help Curb Global Warming? – by Tim Flannery

Have you ever thought that seaweed could help us fight global warming? In 2019, the co-founder of the Australian Climate Council Tim Flannery held an eye-opening Ted Talk to explain how oceangoing seaweed farms created on a massive scale could help us trap all the carbon we emit into the atmosphere. 

The environmentalist is convinced that if we covered 9% of the world’s ocean in seaweed farms, we could draw down the equivalent of all of the greenhouse gases we put up in any one year, equivalent to more than 50 gigatons. Check out his Ted Talk to learn more about this potentially planet-saving solution – and the work that is still needed to get there.

  13. Why Bees Are Disappearing – by Marla Spivak

The huge range of topics that the Ted Talks on climate change covered in this article helps us realise that global warming comes with a myriad of consequences, some of which are too often overlooked. Marla Spivak has researched bees’ behaviour and biology for years in an effort to preserve this threatened , but ecologically essential, insect.

In her highly informative speech , Spivak explains that more than one-third of the world’s crop production is dependent on bee pollination. In parts of the world where there are no bees, people are paid to do the business of pollination by hand. While bees have been dying at impressive rates over the last 50 years as a consequence of reckless human actions such as the use of synthetic fertilisers and herbicides, losing them would have tragic consequences on humans, threatening food security around the world. Check out this Ted Talk to learn more about what is threatening bees and how we can help preserve this crucial species.

14. How to Shift Your Mindset and Choose Your Future – by Tom Rivett-Carnac

In his 2020 Ted Talk, political strategist Tom Rivett-Carnac made the case for adopting a mindset of “stubborn optimist” to confront climate change or any other crisis we are presented with. While there are some aspects of our lives that we feel we have no power to control, the reality is different. 

Most of the time, our mind tricks us into believing that we are not powerful enough to make a change. Yet, we are stronger than we might think. As Rivett-Carnac puts it in his speech , it all comes down to shifting our mindset away from fear and trepidation and instead taking action with determination and optimism. The two together, he argues, can help us transform an entire issue and change the world.

15. Climate Action Should Focus on Communities, Not Just Carbon – by Jade Begay

Jade Begay  is the director of policy and advocacy at NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led organisation dedicated to building Indigenous power. She works with Indigenous communities from the Arctic to the Amazon, which are among the communities most affected by the climate crisis. In this inspiring Ted Talk, she calls for an alignment of climate action with the needs of those on the frontlines. She offers two starting points to understand how climate change impacts these communities and how their expertise could guide sustainable solutions built on trust.

More on the topic: Indigenous People Are Essential for Preventing Biodiversity Loss. They Mustn’t Be Sidelined.

16. How Shocking Events Can Spark Positive Change – by Naomi Klein

Last but not least on our list of powerful Ted Talks on climate change is Naomi Klein’s speech. The public intellectual, journalist, and activist is committed to highlighting the dangers of the takeover of public life by global brands and corporations.

In her 2017 Ted Talk in New York, she focusses on how anti-democratic forces are pushing societies backward, leading them to become more unequal and unstable. However, she claims that history shows that it is possible for complex societies to rapidly transform themselves in the face of a collective threat from migration waves and record-breaking storms to deadly terror attacks and the rise of supremacist movements. Klein urges all societies to respond with the urgency that these overlapping crises demand from us. “The shocking events that fill us with dread today can transform us, and they can transform the world for the better,” the journalist says. “But first we need to picture the world that we’re fighting for. And we have to dream it up together.”

Featured Image: Maria Spivak’s Ted Talk, photo by James Duncan Davidson

Research for this article was conducted by Earth.Org research contributor Anjella Klaiber

  You might also like: The 21 Best Environmental Films of 2022

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Transcript of Biden’s Speech on Climate Change and Hurricane Ida

“The nation and the world are in peril,” President Biden said after touring storm damage in New York and Jersey. “And that’s not hyperbole. That is a fact.”

The following is a transcript of President Biden’s remarks about climate change and Hurricane Ida after he toured damage from the storm in neighborhoods in New York and New Jersey on Tuesday.

Chuck, thank you very much. As the old joke goes, my father were here, he’d say thank you, and my mother were here, she would say, “Who are you talking about?”

Look, folks, let me begin by saying I wish every American could walk down this alley with me to see and talk to the people who have been devastated, just talk to them. None of them were shouting or complaining. Every one of them were thanking me as if it was something special — I mean it sincerely — that I was here and hoped that we’d be able to do something.

This is America, where I am standing right now. These are the people, whether it’s Scranton or Claremont or anywhere around the world — the country, who built this country. And it’s about time we step up. They’re always the first ones that are hurt and the last ones that are helped. But that’s not going to happen this time.

The group I have standing with me led by Chuck Schumer and your — Congresswoman, is this your district? Oh, it’s Grace’s district. I want to thank her personally for her gumption, the way she’s fought and hollered and fought so hard for all the people in this alley. I really mean it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

But that goes for everybody here. And look, folks. You know, I want to thank governor for — and Leader Schumer and Kirsten — I should say Senator Gillibrand — and Congresswoman [Grace] Meng and [Representative Carolyn B.] Maloney and [Representative Gregory W.] Meeks, Mayor [Bill] de Blasio for being here. You know, it’s not — how can I say this? Sometimes some very bad things happen that have a tendency to bring out the best in a people and a country.

And I think what people are seeing across this country, from the wildfires in California and the Far West , which I’m heading to in a couple days, all the way to, down in Louisiana in the Gulf, where I was a couple days ago, to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to a lesser extent, Delaware, to a lesser extent, and New York.

People are beginning to realize this is much, much bigger than anyone was willing to believe. And the whole segment of our population denying this thing called climate change. But I really mean it.

Sometimes my mother used to say out of everything bad, something good will come if you look hard enough for it. Well, I think we’ve all seen, even the climate skeptics are seeing that this really does matter. And it’s not just whether or not people who are just trying to get by in these homes, in these alleys here, working their butts off, do well.

It’s people in high towers along the shore who find that as this rain and all this change takes place in the groundwater, the buildings are actually beginning to tilt. Hundred-story buildings — this goes so far beyond what anybody’s willing to speak to up to now.

We just finished surveying some of the damage in the neighborhood, here in Queens. And earlier today, we were in the Raritan Valley in New Jersey, which also got badly, badly hit. Walking these neighborhoods, meeting the families and the first responders, seeing how folks are doing after this destruction and pain and another devastating storm, is an eye-opener.

The people who stand on the other side of the fences who don’t live there, who are yelling that we are talking about and interfering with free enterprise by doing something about climate change — they don’t live there. They don’t live, they don’t understand. And you know, last week, right here, in so many other communities, these waves crashed through the streets here, testing the aging infrastructure and taking lives. More lives were taken here than down in Louisiana.

Let me say that again. They had over 20 inches of rain. They had 178-mile-an-hour winds, gusts. And more lives were taken here than down in Louisiana. And you know, you all saw the harrowing images of stories and families trapped in flooding basements and struggling to survive. Well, you didn’t have to — you just go along this valley. I’m sure the press has done that.

My message to everyone grappling with this devastation is: We’re here, we’re not going home till this gets done. I really mean that. We’re not leaving. We’re going to continue to shout as long as it takes to get real progress here.

Folks — and we have to take some bold action now to tackle the accelerating effects of climate. If we don’t act — now I’m going to be heading, as Chuck knows, as the senator knows, I’m going to be heading from here to Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP meeting [United Nations Climate Change Conference], which is all the nations of the world getting together to decide what we are going to do about climate change. And John Kerry, the former secretary of state, is leading our effort, putting it together.

We are determined, we are determined that we are going to deal with climate change and have zero emissions, net emissions by 2050. By 2020, make sure all our electricity is zero emissions. We’re going to be able to do these things. But we’ve got to move. We’ve got to move. And we’ve got to move the rest of the world. It’s not just the United States of America.

And so, folks, this summer alone, communities with over 100 million Americans — 100 million Americans call home — have been struck by extreme weather. One in every three Americans has been victimized by severe weather. The hurricanes along the Gulf, the East Coast, up through this community. And I saw the human and physical cost firsthand, as I said, in Louisiana .

But, governor, you called Phil Murphy — Governor Murphy — so many leading with urgency and action are saying enough, enough. And there’s not a single request I’m aware of — there may be something — that we haven’t signed off on, that we haven’t signed off yet.

And here’s the deal. The New York Fire Department, the New York Police Department, the Sanitation Department and other first responders, they’re leading with incredible, incredible courage. Two linemen have been killed in trying to make sure we have [inaudible].

And, folks, the evidence is clear. Climate change poses an existential threat to our lives, to our economy, and the threat is here, it’s not going to get any better. The question: Can it get worse? We can stop it from getting worse.

And when I talk about building back better — and Chuck is fighting for my program, for our program on the Hill — when I talk about building back better, I mean you can’t build to what it was before this last storm. You got to build better so that if the storm occurred again, there would be no damage. There would be.

But that’s not going to stop us, though, because if we just do that, it’s just going to get worse and worse and worse. Because the storms are going to get worse and worse and worse. And so, folks, we’ve got to listen to the scientists and the economists and the national security experts. They all tell us this is code red.

The nation and the world are in peril. And that’s not hyperbole. That is a fact. They’ve been warning us the extreme weather would get more extreme over the decade, and we’re living in it real time now.

We can look around the wreckage and the ruins and the heartbreak from so many communities to feel it. You don’t understand, you can feel it, you can taste it, you can see it. Precious lives lost in Louisiana and New Jersey and New York. Families living in shelters, subway stations flooded, decaying infrastructure pushed beyond the limits, lives and livelihoods interrupted once again. We’re working closely with the governors and mayors and members of Congress and community leaders.

On Sunday, I immediately approved the disaster declaration of Governor [Kathy] Hochul to rush federal assistance to where it was needed — here. FEMA’s working intensively with state and local officials, assessing the damage and mobilizing resources.

One of the things I want to thank Chuck for, as leader of the Senate: He has helped mobilize state, local and federal. When they’re all working together, that’s when things happen positively.

The health and human services secretary is working with the state to ensure folks on Medicare and Medicaid get the emergency care they needed. They’re going to make sure it’s equitable so that the hardest hit, including lower-income folks, communities of color and the elderly and the most vulnerable, get help and get it first. They are the ones in the greatest need.

And there’s much to be done in working around the clock in all these critical needs and areas. Look, I say to anyone who can hear this if this is broadcast: If you need help, please go to disasterassistance.gov . Or call 1-800-621-FEMA. 1-800-621-3362. We can get you help now.

And I know these disasters aren’t going to stop. They’re only going to come with more frequency and ferocity. As I said, I’m working in Congress to pass two important pieces of legislation that this man here is honchoing through the Congress for me.

The bipartisan plan to modernize our physical infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our power transmissions, our distribution lines. How many bridges I just went through in New Jersey that had been overflowed by the river? The river’s gone higher than the bridges, having done damage to them.

My “Build Back Better” plan with key investments to fight climate change, cutting emissions and make things more resilient. Each dollar we invest, every dollar — we raise a city block by two feet, flood-proof power stations, sanitations, reduction in the buildup of kindling in our forest, installing electrical lines underground rather than overhead — saves us six dollars for every single dollar we spend to do those things.

Because the next time disaster strikes, the flood is contained, the fire doesn’t spread as widely, and power stays on. Not to mention those investments save lives, homes and create good-paying union jobs.

I hosted 56 heads of state in Washington. And I pointed out, we’re talking about climate change, and I said I think of one word when I think of climate change: jobs. Good-paying jobs. Each of these things requires a good-paying job, not $7 or $12 or $15, but $45, $50 an hour plus health care. That’s what is needed. And so, folks — and also, Wall Street, not too far from here, acknowledges that if we spend the money on these things, we’re going to grow the economy, increase employment.

You know, the fire in Oregon sent smoke all the way to the Atlantic . A storm in the Gulf, as you have now figured out, can reverberate 10 states away. Supply chains and crop production get interrupted, driving up costs, devastating industries all over America. This is everybody’s crisis. Everybody’s crisis.

And let me just say, again: The fact is that the damage done on the West Coast, which I’ll be heading to, they’ve already burned five million acres to the ground. That’s bigger than the state of New Jersey, if I’m not mistaken. Five million acres. And you see it by the smoke that ends up coming over the East Coast .

Folks, we’re all in this. It’s about time we stopped the regional fights and understand helping somebody make sure there’s no fewer fires in the West warrants helping people in this alley make sure they’re not flooded.

And by the way, it’s not just the flooding. I’ll end with this — not just the flooding. Flooding ends up overrunning sanitation systems. And it causes disease. People get sick, and it’s serious, serious business. So we’ve got a lot of work to do.

Again, it’s good-paying jobs. We can put the economy back on a path to real growth. But in the meantime, we’re going to save a whole hell of a lot of people’s lives, and we’re going to save a whole hell of a lot of money.

God bless you all. Let’s get this done.

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Biden says U.S. will rise to the global challenge of climate change

Lauren Sommer

Rebecca Hersher

President Joe Biden spoke at the COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt. The President said the United States will meet its promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. Gehad Hamdy/dpa/picture alliance via Getty hide caption

President Joe Biden spoke at the COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt. The President said the United States will meet its promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

In a speech at global climate negotiations in Egypt, President Joe Biden said the United States is following through on promises to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, and worked to buoy the image of the U.S. as a global leader against climate change.

"We're proving that good climate policy is good economic policy," President Biden told a room of representatives of governments around the world. "The United States of America will meet our emissions targets by 2030."

The U.S. has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions between 50 and 52% by 2030. The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which incentivizes electric cars and more efficient buildings, was a major step toward hitting that goal . Still, more will need to be done. Currently, U.S. emissions are expected to fall roughly 39% by 2030.

Biden did not announce any major new policies in his speech. This week, his administration has announced a slew of plans to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas facilities, invest in renewable energy and direct private money to climate projects overseas.

The president reiterated the importance of such measures. "The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security and the very life of the planet," he said.

Biden arrives as climate talks are moving are slow

The speech comes about halfway through a climate summit that has thus far failed to produce any significant progress on major global sticking points.

Developing countries are frustrated with the U.S. and wealthier nations, who they say owe them reparations for increasingly destructive climate impacts. Top leaders for two countries that emit some of the most greenhouse gas pollution, India and China, aren't attending the talks. The war in Ukraine is also driving a new push for fossil fuels, as countries try to wean themselves off natural gas from Russia.

Biden also spoke as midterm election votes are still being counted in the U.S, determining which party will control Congress and, ultimately, whether and how the U.S. will fulfill its climate promises to the world.

Developing countries push U.S. for more climate aid

The Biden Administration has promised that the U.S. will contribute $11 billion a year by 2024 to help developing countries cope with climate change through projects like renewable energy or new infrastructure to protect cities. Wealthier nations generate the lion's share of climate pollution and they have promised $100 billion dollars by 2020 to lower-income countries, which have done little to fuel global warming.

But the industrialized world has fallen short so far of that goal. If Republicans take control of Congress, it is unclear how the White House will follow through on its pledge. Congressional Republicans have repeatedly blocked such international climate funding.

And Republican leaders have also historically opposed payments that developing countries say they're owed for the damage and destruction from climate change. Setting up a global fund for such payments is a major topic of discussion at the current summit.

In his speech, the President said he will continue to push for more funding from Congress. "The climate crisis is hitting hardest those countries and communities that have the fewest resources to respond and recover," he said.

Global emissions are still rising far too fast to avoid dangerous levels of warming. If countries meet their climate pledges, emissions will only fall around 3 percent by 2030. Studies show they need to fall by 45 percent to avoid even more destructive climate impacts, like powerful storms, heat waves, and melting ice sheets that will cause oceans to flood coastal cities .

Biden urged countries to cut their emissions as quickly as possible. "The science is devastatingly clear," he said. "We have to make vital progress by the end of this decade.

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Are we communicating climate change wrong? Here are five ways to improve.

The way we communicate the issue has a different impact on different audiences

May 6, 2024

We typically communicate climate change focusing on rising ocean levels, more intense storms and droughts. But we rarely connect the dots to the social and economic impacts.

Fernando Andrade

Climate Change Technical Specialist, UNDP

During the last decade working on climate change, I’ve witnessed how the way we communicate the issue has a different impact on different audiences. Tailormade messages and differentiated approaches have proven to be the most effective for me. I’m sharing my top tips to help you communicate climate change to your audience.

Take on the role of a climate change translator

To motivate our audience to take action, we need to avoid the “one speech for all”.

If you are working on climate change, and you want to share your message across different audiences, the first thing you need to consider is, who is listening or reading. Make sure you are tailoring your message for the intended audience.

I often see colleagues in our industry communicating in a way that assumes that people understand them. All the technical jargon, the acronyms and technical concepts tend to alienate people. We don’t need to sound smart to be smart, especially when not everybody has the same access to knowledge and awareness of the topic. 

We need to resonate with our audience. We must identify their motivations, their objectives, and their needs. For instance, the interests and experiences of young people will be different than those of government officials. How they speak or what kind of words will impact them will be different too.

When talking to the private sector, I’ve seen that focusing on how their businesses can be affected by climate change, talking about how climate action can help them be more efficient, more competitive, and gain access to new markets can go a long way.

We should make more conscious attempts to better communicate outside of our echo chamber. The same way that an interpreter translates from one language to another so more people can understand, we need to be “climate interpreters” to help bring more people into the conversation. 

If you are afraid of oversimplifying concepts or not being scientifically accurate, don’t forget that there is a big difference between simple and simplistic. We don’t want to be simplistic, but being clear and simple will really help you to get your message across.

Make it human

Climate change is no longer an exclusively scientific issue, it is also a socio-economic development issue. 

Yet, we can go out to the streets and start asking people about climate change, and you’ll be surprised to see how many don’t understand the term, although they do feel the impact. 

I typically see how people communicate about climate change focusing on the physical impacts, such as the rising sea levels, the polar ice caps melting, and extreme weather events, but often don’t connect the dots to the social and economic impacts.

To change this perception, it’s necessary to tell the story differently - using metaphors, analogies, and real life examples. Focus on the human side, explain how climate change can affect different aspects of their current lifestyle, such as purchasing power, the ability to work more efficiently, and make a living for themselves and their families. For example, explaining how droughts can affect the generation of electricity creating blackouts and how this impacts their livelihood, how the cost of food will rise due to floods, how fishing communities will suffer from ocean acidification.

Add a dash of hope

It’s well known that if we feel hopeless about a situation, we won’t take action to make a change. Why would we bother if we’re doomed anyway?

Yes, we need to communicate the need for urgent action, and yes, we need to sound all the alarms, but we also need to communicate hope and let people know that we can reverse the problem. That our actions count, and that collectively we can change the trajectory. The solutions are there, we just need the political will to foster the change.

Let’s inform about the different options and paths to be more prepared for the impacts of climate change. Let’s inform readers and listeners about the alternatives to help us reduce our impact. Highlight the positive and tell people what they can do to take action instead of listing only the terrible things that will happen if they don’t. Focus on sharing successful and inspiring examples or local experiences that they can relate to. 

Co-create the message

If you want your message to be replicated, it needs to be co-created with the relevant audiences. If you want to reach Indigenous Peoples, you need to work with them, create the messages in a way that relates to their lives and their culture. It might need to be in their native language, so it has more impact and reaches more people.

If you are working with the private sector, you need to shape the message with them based on their knowledge of their own industries. This approach often leads to companies becoming champions or advocates who start bringing other companies into the conversation. 

If you want to send the message to young people, you have to share it using their channels of communication. For example, we recently developed the  Youth for Climate Action e-learning course , but we didn’t do it from UNDP only. We worked with youth organizations so that they could shape the course in the way they knew was best for young people. It was designed by youth for youth. 

Get your sources right

If you are a communicator or a journalist, you know that communicating science is no easy task. You’ll need to become a “half-expert” on some topics, so you understand the issue enough to repackage it and communicate it to your audience in a more digestible way. This is especially a challenge when talking about climate change. There are countless acronyms, extensive theories, endless pages of treaties and agreements. It gets even more challenging as climate change misinformation and disinformation are so widespread and are  on the rise . 

But before you panic, there’s no need to become an expert on climate science to communicate it. There are resources that will help you to familiarize with the climate change terminology such as the  Climate Dictionary . You can partner with organizations and institutions that are authorities in the topic who could act as reliable sources of information. You can seek fact-checking websites, such as  Verified , that will help you avoid giving inaccurate or fake information. When communicating, share resources based on evidence and official sources, such as  UN websites , including UNFCCC and UNDP, academic research, and reputable news sources. 

Beware of greenwashing, making sure that you are communicating about real sustainable practices, and think whether you are including the different communities involved in your narrative. 

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• Published: 10 May 2024

Talking about climate change and health

Nature Climate Change volume  14 ,  page 409 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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The climate crisis is also an urgent and ongoing health crisis with diverse human impacts leading to physical, mental and cultural losses. Translating knowledge into action involves broad collaboration, which relies heavily on careful communication of a personal and politicized issue.

Against a backdrop of reported historical peaks in monthly temperatures, the past months have seen increasing visibility of the issue of climate change health, as several institutions have pushed awareness, research and action to limit the effects that warming has on human health. These include the inaugural Declaration on Climate and Health at COP28, the publication of the report Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health 1 by the World Economic Forum, and a pledge of £23 million by the Wellcome Trust to support transdisciplinary research to protect human health from climate change.

In this issue of Nature Climate Change and an associated online Focus , we highlight research and other content at the climate–health intersection.

Across these works, a clear and familiar theme that arises is the world’s current lack of preparation to deal with the ongoing crisis. This is exemplified in an Analysis by Braithwaite and colleagues of the ability of healthcare systems to cope with climate change. In line with the World Economic Forum’s finding that climate impacts will cost healthcare systems a further US$1.1 trillion globally by 2050 (ref. 1 ), Braithwaite and colleagues highlight the need for multi-pronged plans to future-proof these at-risk systems. They also demonstrate the heavy bias of current research on acute disaster events and in the Global North.

The second conspicuous theme is that responding to the climate–health crisis will involve diverse actors. In a Viewpoint article, six researchers highlight key issues in their fields, which include mental health, labour, disease spread, maternal and neonatal health, air quality and nutrition, while advocating the need for collaboration across disciplines, sectors and geography. Echoing this need for collaboration, a Feature article by Yessenia Funes on the public drive to seek climate action through the courts focuses on the varied yet complementary roles the public, research scientists, healthcare professionals and lawyers have to play.

Thirdly, and critically linked to the previous points, is that improved communication is key for translating research into action. Part of this involves learning the languages of different fields or sectors: in a Q&A article, Maria Neira, director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO), describes how understanding that the climate terms ‘adaptation’ and ‘mitigation’ corresponded to the terms ‘primary intervention’ and ‘secondary intervention’ in public health helped to align communication between the two fields. Another part also involves ensuring that language is used carefully to support positive action. Psychologist Elizabeth Marks (writing in the Viewpoint article) discusses the importance of identifying eco-anxiety without pathologizing it, while Neira discusses the impact of communicating a negative message (that is, climate change is harming human health) with or without actionable plans, underscoring the difference between problem solving and panic. Funes also highlights the important role of health practitioners, whose personal relationships with patients makes them ‘trusted messengers’ to discuss climate change health information. In line with this, the WHO has just released a new toolkit to support healthcare professionals to effectively communicate about climate change and health 2 . A Comment from Noa Heiman in this issue also discusses the best ways for therapists to support their clients who experience climate distress.

Overall, talking about climate change health is not just a question of slipping from the technical jargon of climate models to that of healthcare or legal systems. It is also about communicating with an increasingly engaged public on a deeply personal and politicized issue. Finding the right wording is therefore extremely important. But the personal part of health is also what makes discussing climate change from a health point of view such a powerful tool to move forward.

An ongoing global crisis lacking preparedness that requires multiple actors to move forward can leave a lot of room for debate. But as Neira suggests, if instead of talking only about reducing emissions or limiting the amount of degrees warming, we discuss the number of lives that can be saved, there is less room for discussion, and more room to translate words into action.

Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health (World Economic Forum, 2024).

WHO launches new toolkit empowering health professionals to tackle climate change. WHO (22 March 2024); https://go.nature.com/3w1i7yO

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Talking about climate change and health. Nat. Clim. Chang. 14 , 409 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02020-3

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden on Actions to Address the Climate   Crisis

South Court Auditorium Eisenhower Executive Office Building

   10:40 A.M. EST   THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.  Appreciate it.    Well, I told Ritika: When she’s president, don’t forget me.  (Laughter.)    Ritika, thank you for that introduction and your beautiful artwork.  You all see the artwork?  Can you see it up here?  It’s on the right side; I don’t know if they can see it.     And thank you to all of you — to the climate scientists and experts who are here today and all across the country who have contributed to this critical endeavor.     I particularly want to thank Allison Crimmins — you know, who put together the team to write this report and — we’re releasing today.  It was an easy thing to do.  Not much to it.  (Laughter.)  Only about 700 people you had to get in line.   Well, more than 30 years ago, Congress passed a law that called for a detailed scientific report on the impacts of global changes in the environment.    Since then, these assessments delivered to Congress and the President have been the go-to resource in America for information on climate change and for developing climate solutions.     Today — today, I’m proud to announce that my administration just released the Fifth Climate Assessment in our nation’s history.    It didn’t just come out of thin air.  Written over four years, 750 authors and experts, thousands — thousands of American contributors from every single state in the nation as well as several territories and Tribes.     It’s the most comprehensive assessment on [the] state [of] climate change in the history of America.  And it matters.    This assessment shows us in clear scientific terms that climate change is impacting all regions, all sectors of the United States — not just some, all.    It shows that communities across America are taking more action than ever to reduce climate risks and warns that more action is still badly needed.    We can’t be complacent.  Let me say that again: We can’t be complacent.  We have to keep going.    Above all, it shows us that climate action offers an opportunity for the nation to come together and do some really big things.    You know, I’ve seen firsthand what the reports made clear: the devastating toll of climate change and its existential threat to all of us.  And it is the ultimate threat to humanity: climate change.   I’ve walked the streets of Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Puerto Rico — where historic hurricanes and floods wiped out homes, hospitals, houses of worship — just wiped them right off the map.   I’ve met with families in Texas, Kentucky, Mississippi, where catastrophic winter storms and tornadoes devoured everything in their path — schools, businesses, police stations, a fire house.   I’ve seen firefighters in Idaho, Maui, and New Mexico, California, Colorado, where wildfires destroyed whole neighborhoods and sacred Tribal sites, spreading smoky haze thousands of miles and forcing millions of Americans to shelter indoors in unsafe air to breathe.    Look — and, by the way — and I’ve flown over all these areas in helicopters.  They tell me that more of our forest land has — forest has burned to the ground than make up the entire state of New Jersey.  The entire state.  Some say Maryland, New Jersey — but the (inaudible) is it’s — that’s just gigantic and has incredible impacts.   Record temperatures in Texas, Arizona, and elsewhere are affecting the lives and livelihoods of more than 100 million Americans.    And this summer and this fall have been the Earth’s hottest since global records began to be kept in the 1800s.  Think about that: the hottest we’ve ever recorded in history.     It’s an impact — an impact that decades are making because inaction — there was inaction for much too long.   Look — but we’re acting now, and we have been acting.  We’ve come to the point where it’s foolish for anyone to deny the impacts of climate change anymore.    But it’s simply a simple fact that there are a number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle — MAGA Republican leaders — who still deny climate change, still deny that it’s a problem.   My predecessor and much of the MAGA Republican Party, in fact, are — feel very strongly about that.   Anyone who willfully denies the impact of climate change is condemning the American people to a very dangerous future.    The impacts we’re seeing are only going to get worse, more frequent, more ferocious, and more costly.    Last year alone, natural disasters in America caused $178 billion — $178 billion in damages.  They hit everyone, no matter where — what their circumstances, but they hit the most vulnerable the hardest: seniors; people with disabilities; people experiencing homelessness who have nowhere to turn; Black, brown, and Tribal communities; territories that are most exposed and le- — have the least resource — fewest resources.    But, folks, none of this is inevitable.  None of it’s inevitable.   From day one, my administration has taken unprecedented climate action.  We’re working with everyone from mayors to county officials to entrepreneurs to academics; business leaders, labor leaders, Tribal leaders.  We’re focused in all parts of America: cities, suburbs, small towns, and rural communities and Tribal Nations.   And here’s how.  We’re using a law I got passed when I first came to office called the American Rescue Plan to help states and cities become more resilient to climate change, promoting energy efficiency by weatherizing homes, reducing flooding by building infrastructure to handle storm surges, opening cooling centers impacted — centers where there’s particular great heat impact and people need a shelter.   Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I signed two years ago — the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in American history: roads, bridges, ports, airports, high-speed Internet.  It delivers clean water to your community, lowers your energy bills, upgrades your electric grid so you don’t have to power them — so you don’t have to lose power, I should say, when storms and heatwaves hit.    The CHIPS and Science Act I signed last year — (coughs) excuse me — I signed last year — excuse me — (coughs) — I signed last year positions us to lead in semiconductor manufacturing and innovation, which is critical to clean energy development and deployment.   Semiconductors are those small, little computer chips you all know, the size of the tip of your little finger, that power everything in our lives, from smart phones to appliances.  We invented those chips.  We invented them.  And we’re — other countries started making them, and we weren’t.    Not anymore.  We’re making these chips here in America.    And my Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant climate investment ever anywhere in the world.    Among many things it does, it offers tax credits to make your home more energy efficient; upgrading windows and doors to keep drafts out and heat in; tax credits to installing electric heat pumps and solar panels on your roof, saving hundreds of dollars in your family bills; tax credits to buy electric vehicles as we build the electric vehicle future here in America.   We’re transforming clean energy development that’s  threatening  [creating] good-paying jobs, including union jobs, in all of America.    We’ve already attracted over half a tri- — we’ve attracted half a trillion dollars — a half of trillion dollars in private sector investment for my Investing in America agenda in clean energy and advanced manufacturing.    We’re just getting — and we’re just getting started.  And we really are.  We’re just getting started.   All told, my Investing in America Agenda and those bold climate laws are the most au- — ambitious in American history.    Today’s release, the Fifth National Climate Assessment, is a critical part of that effort.  It lays out the threats and dangers, but most experts would acknowledge it also shows solutions are within reach.  Solutions are within reach.     It takes time for the investments we’re making to be fully materialized.  But we just have to keep at it.  We need to do more and move faster, and we have the tools to do it.   And for the first time ever, we’re also releasing the report with new — with a new online tool — that I just was shown a moment ago in the other room — so everyone can explore exactly what’s happening in their state, their city, and their county by going online to WhiteHouse.gov/NCA.  WhiteHouse.gov/NCA    That’s very different from the previous administration that tried to bury this report.  They didn’t even want to make sure this — this report even came to light.  We’re sharing it on — we’re — and we’re — we’re — we’re sharing this report in detail with the American people so they know exactly what they’re facing and what we’re going to have to do.   But that’s not all.  Along with this assessment, I’m announcing $6 billion in new investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make communities across the country more resilient to climate change.  This funding will be administered by the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.    And it’s going to be focused on key climate goals, including modernizing our aging electric grid to withstand extreme weather, which is causing fi- — the — these forest fires.  When those towers come down and the lines snap, they catch fire.  The forest catches fire.    They cost a lot more money to bury those underground and do other things, but we have to do it.  And it’s causing significant outages as well.   Reducing flood risks to communities.  Improving drought resilience.    Supporting conservation for our national parks.  I’ve already been able to conserve 21 million acres of our most precious and sacred lands and waters just — just thus far — just in the first two and a half years.   And advancing environmental justice for disadvantaged communities, because they’re the ones always left behind.      Let me close with this.  Last week, I stopped by the “White House Demo Day” to meet with the scientists and experts overseeing groundbreaking and cutting-edge science and technology that my administration is funding right now, right here in America.  It was truly inspirational hearing from experts from all across the government, the private sector, and academia touching on so many fields.    I saw a prosthetic arm that can sense touch, and it’s controlled by one’s thoughts.  A prosthetic arm.  It’s just like your hand.  You think you want to move your finger — well, it worked out you think — he wants to move his hand, it can do it.  It’s — it’s an incredible breakthrough.    Electric heat pumps to help old homes transition to clean energy homes of the future.  Robots for ocean exploration that survey marine life along unmapped seafloors where barely any light penetrates.  And so much more.    It was a reminder, at least for me, of what I’ve long believed — that America can be defined by a single word.  I mean this sincerely.  The single that — I was asked by Xi Jinping years ago, when we were in the Tibetan Plateau, could I define America.  I said, “Yeah.  One word: possibilities.”  Possibilities.     In this administration, America will be the place where great science changes what’s possible.  That’s why I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.    We just have to remember who we are.  We’re the United States of America, and there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity if we work together.   May God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.   Q    What are the possibilities in San Francisco, Mr. President?      Q    Sir, (inaudible) with your meeting with Xi tomorrow, sir?  And do you — what — how would you define success with your meeting with President Xi?   THE PRESIDENT:  To get back on a normal course of corresponding: being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another when there’s a crisis, being able to make sure our militaries still have contact with one another.    We can’t take — as I told you, we’re not trying to decouple from China, but we’re — what we’re trying to do is change the relationship for the better.  From my perspective, if in fact the Chinese people, who are in trouble right now economically — if the average homeowner or — the “homeowner” — if the average citizen in China was able to have a decent-paying job, that benefits them and it benefits all of us.  But I’m not going to continue to sustain the support for positions where if you want to invest in China, we have to turn over all our trade secrets.    Thank you.   (Cross-talk.)   THE PRESIDENT:  (Addressing the participants onstage.)  Ready?   Q    Mr. President, can you address the hostages directly and give them a message of hope and resilience in these troubling times?   THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I can.  I’ve been talking with the — people involved every single day.  I believe it’s going to happen, but I don’t want to get into any detail.   Q    What’s your message for the families?   THE PRESIDENT:  Hang in there.  We’re coming.   Q    Will you sign the CR?    Q    Mr. President, there is a report out this morning that Israel and Hamas are close to a deal for the release of 70 of the hostages.  Is there anything you can add to that?    THE PRESIDENT:  No.    Thank you.    10:55 A.M. EST

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Un headquarters, 27 july 2023, secretary-general's opening remarks at press conference on climate, antónio guterres.

The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived. Leaders must lead. No more hesitancy. No more excuses. No more waiting for others to move first. There is simply no more time for that. It is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the very worst of climate change. But only with dramatic, immediate climate action. 

A very good morning.   Humanity is in the hotseat.       Today, the World Meteorological Organization and the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service are releasing official data that confirms that July 2023 is set to be the hottest month ever recorded in human history. 

We don’t have to wait for the end of the month to know this.  Short of a mini-Ice Age over the next days, July 2023 will shatter records across the board.

According to the data released today, July has already seen the hottest three-week period ever recorded; the three hottest days on record; and the highest-ever ocean temperatures for this time of year.    The consequences are clear and they are tragic: children swept away by monsoon rains; families running from the flames; workers collapsing in scorching heat.   For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe – it is a cruel summer.   For the entire planet, it is a disaster. 

And for scientists, it is unequivocal – humans are to blame. 

All this is entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings.

The only surprise is the speed of the change.

Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning.

The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived. 

The air is unbreathable.  The heat is unbearable.  And the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable.

Leaders must lead.    No more hesitancy. No more excuses. No more waiting for others to move first.   There is simply no more time for that.   It is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the very worst of climate change.   But only with dramatic, immediate climate action.   We have seen some progress.  A robust rollout of renewables.  Some positive steps from sectors such as shipping.    But none of this is going far enough or fast enough.   Accelerating temperatures demand accelerated action.    We have several critical opportunities ahead.    The Africa Climate Summit.  The G20 Summit.  The UN Climate Ambition Summit.  COP28.   But leaders – and particularly G20 countries responsible for 80% of global emissions – must step up for climate action and climate justice.   What does that mean in practice?   First, emissions.   We need ambitious new national emissions reduction targets from G20 members.   And we need all countries to take action in line with my Climate Solidarity Pact and Acceleration Agenda:   Hitting fast forward so that developed countries commit to reach net zero emissions as close as possible to 2040, and emerging economies as close as possible to 2050, with support from developed countries to do so.    And all actors must come together to accelerate a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels to renewables -- as we stop oil and gas expansion, and funding and licensing for new coal, oil and gas.   Credible plans must also be presented to exit coal by 2030 for OECD countries and 2040 for the rest of the world.    Ambitious renewable energy goals must be in line with the 1.5 degree limit.   And we must reach net zero electricity by 2035 in developed countries and 2040 elsewhere, as we work to bring affordable electricity to everyone on earth.   We also need action from leaders beyond governments.   I urge companies as well as cities, regions, and financial institutions to come to the Climate Ambition Summit with credible transition plans that are fully aligned with the United Nations’ net zero standard, presented by our High-Level Expert Group.    Financial institutions must end their fossil fuel lending, underwriting and investments and shift to renewables instead.    And fossil fuel companies must chart their move towards clean energy, with detailed transition plans across the entire value chain:   No more greenwashing.  No more deception.  And no more abusive distortion of anti-trust laws to sabotage net zero alliances.   Second, adaptation.   Extreme weather is becoming the new normal.    All countries must respond and protect their people from the searing heat, fatal floods, storms, droughts, and raging fires that result.   Those countries on the frontlines -- who have done the least to cause the crisis and have the least resources to deal with it -- must have the support they need to do so.    It is time for a global surge in adaptation investment to save millions of lives from climate [carnage.]   That requires unprecedented coordination around the priorities and plans of vulnerable developing countries.   Developed countries must present a clear and credible roadmap to double adaptation finance by 2025 as a first step towards devoting at least half of all climate finance to adaptation.   Every person on earth must be covered by an early warning system by 2027 – by implementing the Action Plan we launched last year.   And countries should consider a set of global goals to mobilize international action and support on adaptation.   That leads to the third area for accelerated action – finance.   Promises made on international climate finance must be promises kept.   Developed countries must honour their commitments to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries for climate support and fully replenish the Green Climate Fund.   I am concerned that only two G7 countries – Canada and Germany – have made until now replenishment pledges.   Countries must also operationalize the loss and damage fund at COP28 this year. No more delays; no more excuses.   More broadly, many banks, investors and other financial actors continue to reward polluters and incentivize wrecking the planet.   We need a course correction in the global financial system so that it supports accelerated climate action.    That includes putting a price on carbon and pushing the multilateral development banks to overhaul their business models and approaches to risk.   We need the multilateral development banks leveraging their funds to mobilize much more private finance at reasonable cost to developing countries -- and scaling up their funding to renewables, adaptation and loss and damage.   In all these areas, we need governments, civil society, business and others working in partnership to deliver.   I look forward to welcoming first-movers and doers on the Acceleration Agenda to New York for the Climate Ambition Summit in September.    And to hearing how leaders will respond to the facts before us. This is the price of entry.   The evidence is everywhere: humanity has unleashed destruction.   This must not inspire despair, but action.   We can still stop the worst.   But to do so we must turn a year of burning heat into a year of burning ambition.   And accelerate climate action – now.   Enfin, Permettez-moi de dire quelques mots sur la situation profondément préoccupante au Niger. Allow me to say a few words about the deeply worrying situation in Niger.     Soyons clairs : Let me be clear:     Les Nations unies condamnent fermement cette attaque contre le gouvernement démocratiquement élu – et soutiennent les efforts de la CEDEAO et de l'Union africaine pour restaurer la démocratie. The United Nations strongly condemns the assault against the democratically-elected government and supports the efforts of ECOWAS and the African Union to restore democracy.   Hier, j'ai parlé au président Bazoum pour lui exprimer toute notre solidarité. Yesterday I spoke to President Bazoum to express our full solidarity,     Aujourd'hui, je souhaite m'adresser directement à ceux qui le retiennent : Now I want to speak directly to those detaining him:     Libérez Président Bazoum – immédiatement et sans condition. Release President Bazoum immediately and unconditionally.   Cessez d'entraver la gouvernance démocratique de votre pays, et respectez l’État de droit. Stop obstructing the democratic governance of the country and respect the rule of law.   Nous voyons une tendance inquiétante dans la région du Sahel.  Les changements anticonstitutionnels et successifs de gouvernement ont des effets terribles sur le développement et la vie des populations civiles. We are seeing a disturbing trend in the region.  Successive unconstitutional changes of government are having terrible effects on the development and lives of civilian populations.   C’est particulièrement criant dans les pays déjà touchés par les conflits, l'extrémisme violent, le terrorisme et les effets dévastateurs du changement climatique. This is particularly glaring in countries already affected by conflict, violent extremism and terrorism, as well as the devastating effects of climate change.            Les Nations unies sont solidaires du gouvernement démocratiquement élu et du peuple nigérien. The United Nations stands in solidarity with the democratically elected Government and the people of Niger. 

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