Read on Twitter
There is so much worth quoting in the UN Secretary-General’s «State of the Planet» speech, it’s hard to know where to begin. Some key excerpts follow in this thread but read the whole thing. [And no, @ciel_tweets & @StopMoneyPipe didn’t ghostwrite it :)] https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2020-12-02/secretary-generals-address-columbia-university-the-state-of-the-planet-scroll-down-for-language-versions
“The trillions of dollars needed for COVID recovery is money that we are borrowing from future generations. Every last penny.
We cannot use those resources to lock in policies that burden them with a mountain of debt on a broken planet.”
We cannot use those resources to lock in policies that burden them with a mountain of debt on a broken planet.”
“The G20 members, in their rescue packages, are now spending 50 per cent more on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.
It is time:
To put a price on carbon.
To phase out fossil fuel finance and end fossil fuel subsidies . . .“
It is time:
To put a price on carbon.
To phase out fossil fuel finance and end fossil fuel subsidies . . .“
“To shift the tax burden from income to carbon, and from taxpayers to polluters. . . .
To make climate-related financial risk disclosures mandatory. Funding should flow to the green economy, resilience, adaptation and just transition programmes.”
To make climate-related financial risk disclosures mandatory. Funding should flow to the green economy, resilience, adaptation and just transition programmes.”
“We need to align all public & private financial flows behind the Paris Agreement & the SDGs. Multilateral, reg’l & nat’l devt institutions, & private banks, must all commit to align their lending to the global net zero objective.”
“I call on all asset owners and managers to decarbonize their portfolios . . . The world’s pension funds manage $32 trillion dollars in assets, putting them in a unique position to move the needle and lead the way.”
“Adaptation must not be the forgotten component of climate action.
... We need to move to large-scale, preventive and systematic adaptation support.
This is especially urgent for small island developing states, which face an existential threat.”
... We need to move to large-scale, preventive and systematic adaptation support.
This is especially urgent for small island developing states, which face an existential threat.”
“COVID & climate have brought us to a threshold. We cannot go back to the old normal of inequality, injustice & heedless dominion over the Earth. [W]e must step towards a safer, more sustainable & equitable path...Solidarity is humanity. Solidarity is survival.” = Lesson of 2020
