Excellencies, friends,
Our focus here is on climate solutions – and our task is urgent.
Humanity has opened the gates of hell.
Horrendous heat is having horrendous effects.
Distraught farmers watching crops carried away by floods;
Sweltering temperatures spawning disease;
And thousands fleeing in fear as historic fires rage.
Climate action is dwarfed by the scale of the challenge.
If nothing changes we are heading towards a 2.8 degree temperature rise – towards a dangerous and unstable world.
But the future is not fixed.
It is for leaders like you to write it.
We can still limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees. We can still build a world of clear air, green jobs, and affordable clean power for all.
The path forward is clear.
It has been forged by fighters and trailblazers – some of whom are with us today:
Activists refusing to be silenced;
Indigenous Peoples defending their lands from climate extremes;
Chief Executives transforming their business models and financiers funding a just transition;
Mayors moving towards to a zero-carbon future;
And governments working to stamp out fossil fuels and protect vulnerable communities.
But if we are to meet the 1.5 degree limit and protect ourselves from climate extremes, climate champions, particularly in the developing world, need solidarity;
They need support;
And they need global leaders to take action.
Action to reduce emissions.
The move from fossil fuels to renewables is happening – but we are decades behind.
We must make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.
The proposed Climate Solidarity Pact calls on major emitters – who have benefitted most from fossil fuels – to make extra efforts to cut emissions, and on wealthy countries to support emerging economies to do so.
And the Acceleration Agenda I proposed calls on governments to hit fast forward:
So that developed countries reach net zero as close as possible to 2040, and emerging economies as close as possible to 2050 according to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
It also urges countries to implement a fair, equitable and just energy transition, while providing affordable electricity to all:
By ensuring credible plans to exit coal by 2030 for OECD countries and 2040 for the rest of the world;
By ending fossil fuel subsidies – which the IMF estimates reached an incredible US $7 trillion in 2022;
And by setting ambitious renewable energy goals in line with the 1.5 degree limit.
The Acceleration Agenda also calls for climate justice.
Many of the poorest nations have every right to be angry.
Angry that they are suffering most from a climate crisis they did nothing to create.
Angry that promised finance has not materialized.
And angry that their borrowing costs are sky-high.
We need a transformation to rebuild trust.
Excellences, mesdames et messieurs,
Les États doivent pousser le système financier mondial à soutenir l’action climatique.
Cela demande de fixer un prix pour le carbone et de revoir complètement les modèles économiques des banques multilatérales de développement afin qu’elles mobilisent bien plus de fonds privés – à un coût raisonnable pour les pays en développement.
Toutes les parties doivent rendre opérationnel le fonds pour les pertes et dommages à la COP28.
Et les pays développés doivent respecter l’engagement de 100 milliards de dollars, reconstituer le Fonds vert pour le climat et doubler le financement de l’adaptation.
Et tout le monde doit être protégé par un système d’alerte précoce d’ici à 2027 – à travers la mise en œuvre du Plan d’action que nous avons lancé l’année dernière.
Dans le même temps, le Programme d’accélération appelle les entreprises et les institutions financières à s’engager sur des trajectoires de véritable zéro émission nette.
Des promesses douteusesont trahi la confiance du public.
Certaines entreprises ont même essayé de bloquer la transition vers la neutralité carbone, en utilisant leur richesse et leur influence pour retarder, détourner et tromper – c’est honteux.
Les entreprises véritablement sincères doivent élaborer des plans de transition justes, qui réduisent les émissions de manière crédible et garantissent la justice climatique, conformément aux recommandations de mon Groupe d’experts de haut niveau.
Excellences, chers amis,
L’avenir de l’humanité est entre vos mains, est entre nos mains
Un sommet ne changera pas le monde.
Mais aujourd’hui peut être un moment fort pour créer une dynamique sur laquelle nous pourrons bâtir dans les mois à venir et en particulier à la COP.
Nous pouvons – et nous devons – passer à la vitesse supérieure.
Passer des plans à l’action.
Renverser la tendance.
Et je vous remercie.
