As delivered
Statement by Peter Thomson, the President of the UN General Assembly, at the official announcement of The Laudato Si’ Challenge at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
5 May 2017, Vatican
Your Eminence Cardinal Turkson,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour to be here as President of the UN General Assembly at today’s launch of The Laudato Si’ Challenge in the context of the Right Now! initiative.
I am here because the objective behind this Challenge is closely aligned with the development concerns of the United Nations.
I am here because at the United Nations we believe as you do, that unleashing the power of innovation, technology and collaboration will produce the dividends we desire: universal peace, justice for all and environmental sustainability.
In effect, moral responsibility is at the heart of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda was adopted by all 193 members of the United Nations in September 2015. Taken together with the Paris Climate Agreement, it provides a universal masterplan for humanity and for planet.
Through 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the Agenda sets us on a course of combatting the poverty, violence and hopelessness that pushes millions of vulnerable people to flee their homes in pursuit of better lives. It seeks to tackle the inequalities and discrimination that leave so many feeling marginalized and left behind. And it works to transform our economies and our consumption patterns so as to protect our common home while advancing shared prosperity.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the challenges set out in the Laudato Si, demands nothing short of a global transformation.
We cannot solve today’s problems with yesterday’s tools. We must embrace rapid, continuous, and disruptive innovation on a massive scale – innovation that allows governments, citizens, faith groups, private companies and investors to join forces in pursuit of the common good.
That is after all what we are here for. That is what I have dedicated to do during my year as the President of the General Assembly. I am greatly moved to be here today at the Vatican amongst a community dedicated to Mother Earth; to quote Laudato Si’, a beautiful Mother who opens her arms to embrace us.
I thank you for your attention.