I thank the International Ocean Institute and the University of Malta for welcoming me to this beautiful campus. 

It is an honour to receive the Elisabeth Mann Borgese medal.  I know that, through me, you are also recognizing the United Nations and its staff, who do such remarkable work to advance the causes that were so dear to the medal’s namesake.

Elisabeth Mann Borgese fitted a great deal into one lifetime.  She had a passion for music, literature and education.

But some of her earliest and most influential memories were of the sea: of family outings to the Baltic, North or Mediterranean Seas.  As a young child, she recognized these bodies of water as being very important to her father.

Those memories shaped Elisabeth’s life.  But even more than that, they shaped the world’s understanding of the oceans -- and our shared hopes for the future of the planet.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The oceans face serious challenges, from overfishing to hazardous waste and the decline of coral reefs.  The oceans are vast, but their capacity to withstand degradation is limited. 

Oceans thus figure prominently in the newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development -- an inspiring vision to guide us in building a world of dignity for all.

The Agenda includes Sustainable Development Goal 14 on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.  But we also know that healthy oceans are integral to many of the 17 SDGs -- from fighting hunger to providing the renewable energy that can drive industry and contribute to combatting climate change.

In other words, we have 335 million square kilometers of potential solutions literally lapping at our feet.  The 17 goals can help us to unlock that potential.

Over the past two days in Malta, I held wide-ranging discussions on climate change.  Later today, I will depart Malta for Paris, where the crucially important climate change conference opens on Monday, two days from now.

This is a pivotal moment. The decisions that world leaders will make over the next two weeks will have repercussions for generations to come.

The stakes are high -- including for the world’s oceans.  Many marine species are at risk from ocean warming.  Rising sea levels are devastating small island states, which bear so little responsibility for climate change yet so much of the impact.

The world needs an ambitious climate agreement.  We cannot afford to fail.

We are better able to meet this challenge thanks to the life’s work of Elisabeth Mann Borgese, of her many students across the world, and her colleagues here at the International Ocean Institute.

Thank you for your commitment to the United Nations and to the principles and objectives enshrined in the Convention on the Law of the Sea. Thank you for doing your part to promote healthy, productive and peaceful oceans.

To all the students here today: Elizabeth Mann Borgese led a life of action and purpose, and that is my wish for you.  I can think of no greater purpose than being a global citizen and joining in our work to transform the world.

In doing so we will honour a woman to whom we owe so much.

Thank you again for this recognition.