As I had the chance to say to the President of the Republic yesterday, this is mostly a visit of solidarity with the Mozambican people. People who were victims of unprecedented devastation in history, with a terrible impact and physical destruction, and another impact on the human suffering of Mozambicans.

At the same time, I want to pay tribute to the Mozambican people and the Mozambican authorities for the speed of their response, for the enormous courage they have shown in the face of this tragedy and the resilience they showed in launching the reconstruction, not only of the houses, of the properties, but in the reconstruction of their own lives.

Now, Mozambicans alone cannot win this battle. There was significant international solidarity. 

The United Nations, in particular, has been with the Mozambican people from the very beginning. But this solidarity is not enough, even taking into account the donor conference, the truth is that the funds made available to Mozambique, alone, are not sufficient to address the gigantic amount of reconstruction that has to be done. Because of that, it is necessary to increase international solidarity and to ensure that what has already been promised to be quickly disbursed.

On the other hand, if it is true that there have always been cyclones, it is also true that these had a frequency and a size of unprecedented humanitarian consequences – and this has to do with climate change.

I am currently preparing a world summit to be held in September, at the United Nations, and this is the third field visit I have done in preparation for the summit.

I've been to the Pacific Islands, particularly in Tuvalu. Tuvalu does not contribute to global warming, but Tuvalu has its own existence threatened by rising sea levels that could make the country disappear.

After, I was in the Caribbean, on the small islands of the Caribbean, where two years ago, I had the opportunity to witness the impact and the absolutely brutal destruction of Antigua, Barbuda and Dominica. And, once again, the Caribbean islands do not contribute to global warming, but they are in the forefront of the destruction that global warming is causing in the world.

And the third visit is now to Mozambique, focused here on the city of Beira. Once again, Mozambique does not contribute to global warming. The Mozambican economy is, unfortunately, still a very small economy. But Mozambique is the second most vulnerable country in the world to the consequences of climate change. And the meaning of these words can be seen. And that is why, from here, I want to send a very clear message to the countries that are responsible for the level of emissions that cause climate change, to tell them that the current trend needs to be reversed, that climate change is still running faster than we are.

In the next summit, a commitment must be made to not let global warming go beyond 1.5° C by the end of the century. It is necessary to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050, and it is necessary for the states to renew its commitments with much more ambition in 2020, both in terms of reduction of emissions, in terms of mitigation and in terms of financing for the developing world, so that the goals I mentioned can be achieved.

But all this implies profound transformations, which demand a strong political will related to agriculture, industrial production, energy, life in cities, human mobility. That is why strong measures are needed. And I have been urging the countries to shift taxes from people's income taxes, particularly on wages, to a carbon tax, which kills two birds with one stone, since, on the one hand, it creates jobs and, on the other hand, it penalizes those who contribute to climate change.

I have said that we need to stop subsidizing fossil fuels. These subsidies are paid with taxpayers' money. If I am a tax payer, I do not want my money to stimulate the action that creates cyclones like the one that just devastated Mozambique.

We need to stop building new coal-fired power plants by 2020. We need a strong commitment from all States to put an end to this threat, which is the most important threat to the planet today, but not just to the planet, also its people.

The example of Mozambique must be an alert for all, and an alert that must lead to action.