“On Monday the latest global IPCC report was presented. If ever there was clear evidence of man-made climate change, this report presents it. I was personally touched by it, and I am sure many of you too. The scientists’ findings confirm some of what we feared, but also present adverse impact scenarios that are almost beyond imagination.
Are we beyond despair? No. The IPCC report shows that we can still reach the 1.5C target, but optimization of current systems won’t do. It will require systems change at all levels, from the individual, to the community, country, region and global level. From companies to sectors, value chains and markets.
Are we beyond solutions? No. True public-private partnership will be our tool, combined with choosing who we want to be, seeing the opportunities available, daring to create new pathways, and acting with speed as there is no time to lose. We all have set targets, tested new models, and shifted investment. Now is the time to scale it, to make it the pre-dominant way we conduct business, we govern, we work together.
We already started working on the nexus of inequality and climate change. Two major issues that are often operated on separately. Whilst we are looking at one integrated system, where all actions have consequences in different places. The IPCC report shows again that we are part of one and the same ecosystem, in which we are responsible for creating a ripple effect never expected. So we start with what we have, where we are: this nexus. That is where we need to deliver. I am confident that we can transform, all working together to enhance livelihoods and protect our planet: to meet the challenges of our time. It’s a road that we will travel together.”
