As delivered
Lecture by H.E. Mr Peter Thomson, President of the 71st Session of the General Assembly, at Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech
17 November 2016
President Abdellatif Miraoui,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to be here today, with my Special Adviser, Ambassador Dessima Williams, to discuss two of the most consequential issues of our time: climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Many of you will be aware that as we are meeting today, your Government is hosting here in Marrakech leaders from across the world who are participating in the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – more commonly known as COP22.
COP22 is a landmark meeting for global climate action, as it is the first meeting to be held following the entry into force earlier this month of the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Many are referring to this COP as the Action COP and I must commend the Government and people of Morocco for the wonderful job they have done in organising this huge and important meeting.
I will start first by discussing what is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the importance of this Agenda to all of us especially you the youth and our future. Next, how Climate Change is a key goal for this UN Sustainable Development Agenda and the important role of the Paris Agreement in implementing this goal; and lastly your role as key stakeholders in these important global commitments.
What is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?
In September 2015, after two years of intense negotiations, world leaders came together in New York to adopt by consensus, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 2030 Agenda is a universal, integrated, and mutually reinforcing plan that comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets, all to be met by 2030.
The 2030 Agenda, provide humanity with a universal masterplan to achieve a sustainable way of life on this planet.
Implemented effectively, the 2030 Agenda will improve the lives of the world’s people by:
- eliminating extreme poverty and hunger;
- improving access to clean water and sanitation;
- promoting good health and well-being;
- improving access to education; and
- empowering women and girls everywhere.
It will also increase prosperity for all by:
- driving economic growth and decent work;
- promoting social inclusion; and
- reducing inequalities within and between societies.
It will protect our planet by:
- reducing emissions and combatting the effects of climate change;
- restoring the health, biodiversity and resources of our oceans, seas, and terrestrial ecosystems;
- increasing access to affordable, clean and renewable energy;
- fostering responsible patterns of production and consumption; and
- creating inclusive, sustainable and resilient cities;
And, it will build and sustain peace by:
- creating peaceful and inclusive societies;
- supporting effective institutions;
- improving global governance;
- promoting the rule of law; and
- ensuring access to justice for all.
The final goal of the 2030 Agenda – Goal 17 –addresses how the Sustainable Development Goals will be achieve, by focusing on:
- enhancing the mobilization of domestic resources;
- intensifying international cooperation;
- promoting fair trade, capacity building and technology transfer; and
- creating effective public-private partnerships.
The fundamental, underlying principle of the 2030 Agenda is to “leave no one behind”. What this means in practice is that we must ensure that our development gains reach the most vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalised people in our societies, and that our SDG implementation plans target those in greatest need as a priority.
Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, one of the key goals is Goal13 – Take Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change and its impacts. Achieving this goal is integral to the successful implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. SDG13 Acknowledges that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change.
The adoption and entry into force of the Paris Agreement was therefore an important step in our efforts to achieving the Climate Change Goal.
The urgent need for the international community to address climate change could not be clearer.
Its impacts are being felt today in each and every country.
The last few years have been the hottest in recorded history, and current trends in greenhouse gas emissions point to further warming.
Desertification, droughts, floods, cyclones, storm surges, heat waves, sand storms, and landslides are occurring with greater frequency and intensity, increasing food insecurity, exacerbating diseases, disrupting lives and livelihoods, forcibly displacing entire communities, and dampening prosperity and economic growth.
This year, Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti, and Tropical Cyclone Winston swept through my country, Fiji, leaving trails of destruction, including loss of life, homes, infrastructure, and jobs. Storms of increased ferocity, unpredictability and frequency have and continue to be one of the scientific forecasts of Climate Change.
Here in Morocco, prolonged droughts this year have devastated grain production, wiping out around half of the wheat harvest, and leading to shortages, and a slowdown in economic growth. Around the world, another forecast of Climate Change is now being witnessed in the form of desertification.
The World Health Organization already estimates that 23 percent of all global deaths are linked to the environment, and that this figure is expected to rise.
According to the scientists, since 1870, global sea levels have only risen approximately 20cm. However current studies project that between now and the end of the Century, global sea levels will rise by around 1 to 4 feet (0.3 – 1.2 meters)
Rising sea levels are threatening hundreds of millions of people living on coastlines across the world, flooding agricultural land in coastal regions, and leading to mass relocations and displacement of people.
Researchers suggest that half of the world’s population is currently expected to live with climate change-related food insecurity by 2100, and changing weather conditions expected to cause increased health epidemics, and disastrous loss of biodiversity.
Over 100 Governments have now ratified the Paris Agreement. However, the existing commitments that have been made under the Paris Agreement actually fall short of what is required to limit world temperature rises to between 1.5°C and 2°C. Current trends put us on a pathway of close to or above 4°C, and the pledges to cut emissions will result in a global temperature rise of 3°C – 3.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, -thus the commitments are still not ambitious enough.
On Tuesday, I had the honour of speaking at the opening of the COP22 meeting, where I joined His Majesty, King Mohamed VI, and other world leaders, in urging greater ambition and commitment to action.
This year’s COP22 is therefore critical, as it brings together leaders from government, international organisations, business and industry, science and academia, and civil society, to discuss how to begin driving and scaling up action to implement the Paris Agreement and combat climate change.
Implementation of the Paris Agreement is essential to saving our planet, but it is also fundamental to achieving the broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
One year on from the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, progress to implement has begun, with many planning agencies incorporating it into their national development plans.
Nevertheless, it is clear that we need to be much more ambitious if we are to successfully translate the powerful commitments of world leaders into concrete action that pulls humanity back from the precipice of unsustainability.
This is where you – as young people – have an essential role to play.
While governments have the primary responsibility for driving the achievement of the SDGs at a national level, including by creating enabling conditions that catalyse implementation activities, ultimately the success of the 2030 Agenda depends on all stakeholders playing their part.
This includes governments at all levels, but also the United Nations, international financial institutions, civil society, women’s organizations, academia, the private sector, philanthropic foundations, and each and every individual.
The achievement of the 2030 Agenda therefore requires that we all see ourselves as partners in this global effort.
This means forging new inclusive, coherent, efficient and effective models of collaboration,
And it means finding innovative new ways of running economies, doing business, and managing labour markets, that are based on the principle of sustainability, and which ensure women receive equal pay for equal work, and that provide young people have access to decent, green jobs.
When it comes to implementing the 2030 Agenda, the stakes could not be higher – the health of our shared planet, and the security of humankind’s place upon it, are on the line.
We must therefore see implementation as an intergenerational imperative.
As the main beneficiaries of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is vital that young people around the world take ownership of the 2030 Agenda and serve as agents for change, by driving innovation and new ways of achieving the goals, by holding Governments and other stakeholders to account for their progress on the Agenda, and by spreading the word of the Sustainable Development Goals.
I am firmly committed to doing all I can as President of the UN General Assembly to push for meaningful progress in implementing all 17 Sustainable Development Goals by the end of September next year.
This commitment is rooted in my deep belief that only through sustainable development will sustainable peace and human rights be realized across our world. And that in turn, sustainable development will only be achieved by sustaining peace, and promoting and protecting human rights for all.
I therefore have a simple call to action for each and every one of you today – join us in our efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda; be voices that amplify the message of the SDGs across our world; be educators who share with others your knowledge of the importance of the 2030 Agenda; be motivators and examples to family, friends and communities as to what sustainable living embodies; reward socially and environmentally conscious companies; and be active citizens who demand both urgent and responsible change from those around you.
I understand that there will be an interactive session now, and the opportunity for me, Ambassador Christensen and Ambassador Williams to respond to questions, so I will end with one final message, that I cannot over-emphasize – when it comes to the Sustainable Development Goals, you here today, and young people around the world, are the main stakeholders and the central beneficiaries. You must also therefore be the most ardent champions for their implementation.
The SDGs are undoubtedly ambitious, but the stakes are far too high for them not to be achieved – for the sake of each of us here today, for our children, for our grandchildren, and the environmental integrity of our beautiful planet.
I thank you.