Opening
Statement at UN Climate Summit
Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
September 23, 2014
Good morning. I salute His
Excellency the Secretary-General for organizing this landmark event.
I am privileged to be here to
present a summary of the IPCC’s Fifth
Assessment Report. The report, compiled by hundreds of scientists, is the
most comprehensive assessment of climate change ever undertaken.
Three key messages have emerged
from the report:
One: Human influence on the
climate system is clear – and clearly growing.
Two: We must act quickly and
decisively if we want to avoid increasingly destructive outcomes.
Three: We have the means to limit
climate change and build a better future.
Let me address each of these
points.
We have abundant evidence that we
are changing our climate. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amounts of
snow and ice have diminished, and sea level has risen. Each of the last three
decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding
decade since 1850.
Greenhouse gases in our
atmosphere have increased to levels unprecedented in the past 800,000 years.
Our time to take action is running out. If we want a chance to limit the global
rise in temperature to 2 degrees Celsius [3.6°F], our emissions should peak by
2020. If we carry on business as usual, our opportunity to remain below the
2-degree limit will slip away well before the middle of the century.
Moreover, the longer we wait the
higher the risk of severe, widespread and irreversible impacts:
–Food and water shortages. –Increased poverty. –Forced migrations that could
increase the risk of violent conflict. –Extreme droughts and floods. –The collapse of ice sheets that
flood our coastal cities.
And a steady rise in our death
toll, especially among the world’s poorest. How on Earth can we leave our
children with a world like this?
I’m not sure I could stand before
you if the threats of climate change had no solutions. But they do. We already have
the means to build a better, more sustainable world. The solutions are many and
allow for continued economic development.
While some technologies need
additional development, many are already available.
Renewable energy is a real
option. Half of the world’s new electricity generating capacity in 2012 came
from renewables. We also have tremendous opportunities to improve energy
efficiency. And we can further reduce emissions by stopping deforestation.
We are told that limiting climate
change will be too expensive. It will not. But wait until you get the bill for
inaction. There are costs of taking action – but they are nothing compared to
the cost of inaction.
It comes down to a matter of
choice. We can continue along our existing path and face dire consequences. Or
we can listen to the voice of science, and resolve to act before it’s too late.
That’s our choice.
Thank you for listening |
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