Off-the-Cuff
Secretary-General's Press encounter in Antarctica
Antarctica, 9 November 2007
Good evening everyone. It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity of sharing my experience with you today in Antarctica . I'm sure that you'll agree with me that all of us had a very meaningful, valuable day today. I'm here to observe the impact of the global warming phenomenon, to see for myself and to learn all I can about what's happening in Antarctica and elsewhere around the world.
All we have seen today can be very impressive and beautiful, extraordinarily beautiful. But at the same time, it is disturbing too. Look all around here. You have seen and you have observed with your own eyes the melting of the glaciers. The glaciers on King George Island have shrunk by 10 percent recently. Unless the international community does something now, we will not be able to prevent further progressing of global warming. I was told by the scientists that recently, several years ago, the Larsen B ice shelf collapsed within several weeks. That's the size of Rhode Island . Again I was told by the scientists that { as a result, the glaciers are now drifting faster into the sea}. This is one fifth of the total continent. If it broke up, the sea level may rise as much as 6 meters, 18 feet. This is very alarming.
I'm not here to frighten you. I'm here to act as a messenger of early warning on climate change. In that regard, I need your support. Your cooperation will be very important. I was encouraged during the high-level meeting on September 24, which I convened at the General Assembly of the United Nations. All the leaders of the world had expressed their strong support and determination to work together with the United Nations.
This trip you may call an eco-trip. But I'm not here as a tourist. I'm here as a messenger of early warning system on climate change. I hope you will [transmit] this message to the whole world, the leaders of the world, so that the international community will galvanize their political will. We have resources, we have technology, we have financing. What we are lacking is the political will. The main purpose of my visit to this place is to galvanize such political will. {We} need a political answer. This is an emergency. And to an emergency situation, we need emergency {actions}. Then we need to have political answers from the leaders. I'm going to visit the Amazon River; I am going to visit again Punta Arenas tomorrow. From there, I'm going to go to Valencia , Spain , to launch the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We must unite; we must solidify our will to address this very important and urgent issue. We must give Planet Earth a sustainable environment for future generations. This is our historic responsibility, and as Secretary-General, I'm committed to work together with all of you. Thank you very much.
Q: How much are you going to bring the lessons that you learned today to Bali next month?
SG: I hope that my visit today will raise awareness, galvanize strong political will. By the time we reach Bali , we'll be able to launch negotiations together with a concrete road map.
Q: Secretary-General, you went to the Chilean base, the Uruguayan base, the Korean base. There are some people at the United Nations who want to have all of Antarctica declared the common heritage of mankind. What do you think of that idea?
SG: This is good; this is a common heritage. We must preserve this {whole}continent in an environmentally sustainable way. I appreciate the research activities by many countries, including Chile , Argentina , Korea , China , Russia , United States . There are many countries that have their research laboratories here. This whole continent can work as a natural laboratory, to send out very important valuable messages to the international community. I sincerely hope that, as I told the members of the Korean Sejong Research Base, that they should coordinate, exchange information and share their experiences. They must work together for the common heritage of this world.
Thank you