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Obama Urges Action on Climate Change at Paris Talks — Transcript

by Bloomberg Originals · 1,728 words · 303 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:01President, Mr. Secretary
0:04General, fellow
0:08leaders, we have come to
0:10Paris to show our
0:14resolve. We offer our condolences to the
0:17people of France for the barbaric
0:19attacks on this beautiful city.
0:23We stand united in solidarity, not only
0:27to deliver
0:28justice to the terrorist network
0:31responsible for those attacks, but to
0:34protect our people and uphold the
0:36enduring values that keep us strong and
0:39keep us
0:40free. And we salute the people of Paris
0:43for insisting this crucial conference go
0:49on. An act of defiance that proves
0:53nothing will deter us from building the
0:56future we want for our
0:59children. What greater
1:02rejection of those who would tear down
1:05our
1:06world than marshalling our best efforts
1:08to save
1:11it. Nearly 200 nations have assembled
1:14here this
1:16week. A declaration that for all the
1:19challenges we face, the growing threat
1:22of climate change could define the
1:25contours of this century more
1:27dramatically than any
1:30other. And what should give us
1:32hope that this is a turning
1:36point? That this is the moment we
1:38finally determined we would save our
1:42planet. is the fact that our nations
1:45share a sense of urgency about this
1:47challenge and a growing realization that
1:50it is within our power to do something
1:52about
1:55it. Our understanding of the ways human
1:59beings disrupt the
2:02climate advances by the
2:06day. 14 of the 15 warmest years on
2:10record have occurred since the year
2:112000.
2:13And 2015 is on pace to be the warmest
2:16year of
2:18all. No nation, large or small, wealthy
2:23or
2:24poor, is immune to what this means.
2:30This summer, I saw the effects of
2:32climate change firsthand in our
2:33northernmost state,
2:35Alaska, where the sea is already
2:37swallowing villages and eroding
2:40shorelines, where perafrost thaws and
2:44the tundra
2:46burns, where glaciers are melting at a
2:49pace unprecedented in modern
2:52times. And it was a preview of one
2:55possible future.
2:58a glimpse of our children's fate if the
3:00climate keeps changing faster than our
3:03efforts to address it. Submerged
3:05countries, abandoned cities, fields that
3:08no longer grow, political disruptions
3:11that trigger new conflict, and even more
3:14floods of desperate peoples seeking the
3:17sanctuary of nations not their
3:21own. That future is not one of strong
3:25economies.
3:27Nor is it one where fragile states can
3:29find their footing. That future is one
3:32that we have the power to
3:35change right
3:37here, right
3:41now. But only if we rise to this
3:46moment. As one of America's governors
3:49has said, we are the first generation to
3:51feel the impact of climate change and
3:53the last generation that can do
3:55something about it.
4:01I've come here
4:03personally as the leader of the world's
4:05largest economy and the second largest
4:09emitter to say that the United States of
4:11America not only recognizes our role in
4:14creating this
4:15problem. We embrace our responsibility
4:18to do something about
4:22it. Over the last 7 years, we've made
4:26ambitious investments in clean energy
4:29and ambitious reductions in our carbon
4:32emissions. We've multiplied wind power
4:35three-fold, solar power more than
4:3820fold, helping create parts of America
4:41where these clean power sources are
4:42finally cheaper than dirtier
4:45conventional
4:48power. We've invested in energy
4:51efficiency in every way.
4:54imaginable. We've said no to
4:56infrastructure that would pull
4:57highcarbon fossil fuels from the ground.
5:00And we've said yes to the first ever set
5:02of national standards limiting the
5:05amount of carbon pollution our power
5:07plants can release into the
5:11sky. The advances we've made have helped
5:14drive our economic output to all-time
5:16highs and drive our carbon pollution to
5:19its lowest levels in nearly two decades.
5:25But the good news is this is not an
5:27American trend
5:29alone. Last year the global economy grew
5:32while glob global carbon emissions from
5:36burning fossil fuels stayed
5:39flat. And what this means can't be
5:43overstated. We have broken the old
5:45arguments for inaction. We've proved
5:49that strong economic growth and a safer
5:51environment no longer have to conflict
5:53with one another. They can work in
5:56concert with one
5:59another. And that should give us
6:05hope. One of the enemies that we'll be
6:08fighting at this conference is
6:10cynicism. The notion we can't do
6:12anything about climate
6:14change.
6:17Our progress should give us
6:20hope during these two
6:24weeks. Hope that is rooted in collective
6:30action. Earlier this month in Dubai,
6:32after years of delay, the world agreed
6:34to work together to cut the super
6:37pollutants known as
6:40HFC's. That's progress.
6:43Already prior to Paris, more than 180
6:46countries representing nearly 95% of
6:49global emissions have put forward their
6:51own climate targets. That is
6:55progress. For our part, America's on
6:58track to reach the emissions targets
7:00that I set 6 years ago in Copenhagen. We
7:02will reduce our carbon emissions in the
7:05range of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020.
7:10And that's why last year I set a new
7:13target. America will reduce our
7:15emissions 26 to 28% below 2005 levels
7:20within 10 years from
7:24now. So our task here in Paris is to
7:28turn these achievements into an enduring
7:31framework for human progress.
7:36Not a stop gap
7:38solution, but a long-term strategy that
7:41gives the world confidence in a
7:43lowcarbon
7:46future. Here in Paris, let's secure an
7:49agreement that builds in
7:51ambition, where progress paves the way
7:54for regularly updated targets.
7:57targets that are not set for each of us,
7:59but by each of
8:01us, taking into account the
8:05differences that each nation is
8:10facing. Here in Paris, let's agree to a
8:13strong system of transparency that gives
8:15each of us the confidence that all of us
8:18are meeting our commitments.
8:22And let's make sure that the countries
8:24who don't yet have the full capacity to
8:26report on their targets receive the
8:28support that they
8:31need. Here in Paris, let's reaffirm our
8:36commitment that resources will be there
8:39for countries willing to do their part
8:41to skip the dirty phase of development.
8:44And I recognize this will not be easy.
8:46It will take a commitment to innovation
8:48and the capital to continue driving down
8:51the cost of clean
8:52energy. And that's why this afternoon,
8:54I'll join many of you to announce a
8:56historic joint effort to accelerate
8:58public and private clean energy
9:00innovation on a global
9:04scale. Here in Paris, let's also make
9:07sure that these resources flow to the
9:09countries that need help preparing for
9:12the impact of climate change that we can
9:14no longer avoid.
9:20We know the truth that many nations have
9:22contributed little to climate change,
9:25but will be the first to feel its most
9:27destructive
9:30effects. For some, particularly island
9:33nations whose leaders I will meet with
9:35tomorrow, climate change is a threat to
9:37their very existence.
9:40And that's why today in concert with
9:42other nations, America confirms our
9:44strong and ongoing commitment to the
9:46least developed countries fund. And
9:49tomorrow we'll pledge new contributions
9:51to risk insurance initiatives that help
9:53vulnerable populations rebuild stronger
9:56after climate related disasters.
10:00And finally, here in Paris, let's show
10:03businesses and investors that the global
10:05economy is on a firm path towards a
10:08lowcarbon future. If we put the right
10:10rules and incentives in
10:12place, will unleash the creative power
10:15of our best scientists and engineers and
10:17entrepreneurs to deploy clean energy
10:19technologies and the new jobs and new
10:22opportunities that they create all
10:24around the world.
10:28There are hundreds of billions of
10:30dollars ready to deploy to countries
10:32around the world if they get the signal
10:34that we mean business this time. Let's
10:37send that
10:39signal. That's what we seek in these
10:42next two
10:43weeks. Not simply an agreement to roll
10:46back the pollution we put into our
10:47skies, but an agreement that helps us
10:49lift people from poverty without
10:51condemning the next generation to a
10:53planet that's beyond its capacity to
10:54repair. Here in
10:58Paris, we can show the world what is
11:01possible when we come
11:03together, united in common effort and by
11:06a common purpose. And let there be no
11:09doubt, the next generation is watching
11:12what we
11:14do. Just over a week ago, I was in
11:16Malaysia where I held a town hall with
11:19young people and the first question I
11:20received was from a young Indonesian
11:22woman. And it wasn't about terrorism. It
11:25wasn't about the economy. It wasn't
11:26about human rights. It was about climate
11:29change. And she asked whether I was
11:31optimistic about what we can achieve
11:33here in Paris and what young people like
11:35her could do to
11:38help. I want our actions to show her
11:41that we're
11:42listening. I want our actions to be big
11:45enough to draw on the talents of all our
11:47people, men and women, rich and poor. I
11:50want to show her passionate, idealistic
11:53young generation that we care about
11:55their
11:57future. For I believe, in the words of
11:59Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that there is
12:02such a thing as being too
12:03late. And when it comes to climate
12:06change, that hour is almost upon
12:08us. But if we act here, if we act
12:12now, if we place our own shortterm
12:15interest
12:17behind the air that our young people
12:19will breathe and the food that they will
12:20eat and the water that they will drink
12:23and the hopes and dreams that sustain
12:25their lives, then we won't be too late
12:27for
12:29them. And my fellow leaders, accepting
12:32this challenge will not reward us with
12:35moments of victory that are clear or
12:38quick. Our progress will be measured
12:40differently in the suffering that is
12:43averted and a planet that's
12:46preserved. And that's what's always made
12:48this so
12:50hard. Our generation may not even live
12:53to see the full realization of what we
12:55do here. But the knowledge that the next
12:57generation will be better off for what
13:00we do here. Can we imagine a more worthy
13:03reward than that?
13:08passing that on to our children and our
13:10grandchildren so that that when they
13:12look back and they see what we did here
13:14in
13:16Paris, they can take pride in our
13:20achievement. Let that be the common
13:22purpose here in Paris. A world that is
13:25worthy of our children. A world that is
13:27marked not by conflict but by
13:29cooperation and not by human suffering
13:32but by human progress. a world that's
13:35safer and more prosperous and more
13:36secure and more free than the one that
13:40we
13:41inherited. Let's get to work. Thank you
13:44very much.

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