Zitate aus  Guterres  Klimarede 10.9.2018 im UN Hauptquartier

„Die Welt riskiert es den Punkt zu überschreiten, an dem es kein Zurück mehr beim Klimawandel gibt, was verheerende Folgen für die Menschen auf dem Planeten und die natürlichen Systeme, die diese erhalten, hat”, hat UN-Generalsekretär António Guterres am Montag gewarnt. Dabei forderte er eine bessere Führung und ein größeres Bestreben nach Klimaschutz, um den richtigen Kurs einzuschlagen.

„Das Versprechen der Staatsoberhäupter zumPariser Klimaabkommen vor drei Jahren „war wirklich das absolute Minimum, um die schlimmsten Folgen des Klimawandels zu vermeiden“, sagte Generalsekretär Guterres am UN-Hauptsitz in New York. 

„Einfach ausgedrückt: wir müssen den Ausstoß von tödlichen Treibhausgasemissionen bremsen und den Klimaschutz vorantreiben,“ fügte er hinzu.

Guterres betonte in seiner Rede neben den enormen wirtschaftlichen Kosten des Klimawandels auch die Chancen, die sich durch den Klimaschutz ergeben.

Zudem hob er die asymmetrische Auswirkung auf anfällige Nationen hervor und forderte reichere Länder dazu auf, diese zu unterstützen.

Guterres gab darüber hinaus bekannt, dass er im September 2019 einen Klimagipfel einberufen wird, um den Klimaschutz an die Spitze der internationalen Agenda zu setzen. Die Vorbereitungen für den Gipfel werden von Luis Alfonso de Alba, einem ehemaligen mexikanischen Diplomaten, als Sonderbeauftragten geleitet.

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“Climate change is the defining issue of our time, and we are at a defining moment” What makes all of this even more disturbing is that we were warned. Scientists have been telling us for decades. Over and over again. Far too many leaders have refused to listen. Far too few have acted with the vision the science demands. We see the results. In some situations, they are approaching scientists’ worst-case scenarios. The time has come for our leaders to show they care about the people whose fate they hold in their hands. We need to rapidly shift away from our dependence on fossil fuels.  The transition to a cleaner, greener future needs to speed up. We know what is happening to our planet. We know what we need to do. And we even know how to do it. But sadly, the ambition of our action is nowhere near where it needs to be. There is nothing to lose from acting; there is everything to gain. The alternative is a dark and dangerous future. We stand at a truly “use it or lose it” moment.

I have spoken of the emergency we face, the benefits of action and the feasibility of a climate-friendly transformation. There is another reason to act — moral duty.

What we still lack, even after the Paris Agreement, is leadership and the and ambition to do what is needed. The time has come for our leaders to show they care about the people whose fate they hold in their hands. We need them to show they care about the future – and even the present.

It is imperative that civil society — youth, women’s groups, the private sector, communities of faith, scientists and grassroots movements around the world — call

their leaders to account.

Nothing less than our future and the fate of humankind depends on how we rise to the climate challenge. Keeping our planet’s warming to well below 2 degrees is essential for global prosperity, people’s well-being and the security of nations. Only a significantly higher level of ambition will do. And we need the oil and gas industry to make their business plans compatible with the Paris agreement and the Paris targets. I want to see a strong expansion in carbon pricing. But for all this, we need governments, industry and civil society reading from the same page – with governments front and centre driving the movement for climate action.

“Keeping our planet’s warming to well below 2 degrees is essential for global prosperity, people’s well-being and the security of nations. Only a significantly higher level of ambition will do. We know what is happening to our planet. We know what we need to do. And we even know how to do it. But sadly, the ambition of our action is nowhere near where it needs to be. There is nothing to loose from acting; there is everything to gain. The alternative is a dark and dangerous future. We stand at a truly “use it or lose it” moment.

We are careering towards the edge of the abyss. It is not too late to shift course, but every day that passes means the world heats up a little more and the cost of our inaction mounts. Every day we fail to act is a day that we step a little closer towards a fate that none of us wants — a fate that will resonate through generations in the damage done

to humankind and life on earth. Our fate is in our hands.

What we still lack, even after the Paris Agreement, is leadership and the  ambition to do what is needed. The time has come for our leaders to show they care about the people whose fate they hold in their hands. We need them to show they care about the future – and even the present. (A.Guterrez, 10.9.2018)