小李子在联合国国际和平日纪念活动上的演讲
Thank you, Mr. Douglas, for your commitment as a Messenger of Peace. I'm honored to stand here this afternoon alongside the great Ban Ki-moon, my fellow Messengers of Peace and all of you together on this International Day of Peace.
The word "peace" has many possible meanings, and the Messenger of Peace program has been vital to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time head-on – poverty, disease, human suffering – issues which defy the very concept of peace.
For the past two years, as your Messenger of Peace for climate change, I have witnessed unimaginable human-caused devastation across our planet. With the potential of hundreds of millions of climate refugees, this could be a future that will be anything but peaceful.
When I began this journey at the request of the Secretary-General, I feared that it was already too late to stop the droughts, the floods, the famine and the devastation of everything from ancient rainforest to timeless coral reefs. Since then, I have recorded the impacts of climate change for this new documentary that you just saw the preview – Before the Flood. And what I witnessed firsthand and you will all see in the movie should terrify you. But it should also give you hope that the solutions are available and are available today if we begin to make real progress right now, which raises the question: How could mankind wait so long and accept so much suffering and self-destruction? Would we ever be wise enough to stop these forces of greed for fossil fuel profits to finally bring lasting peace and protection to our shared planet?
Then last December in Paris, the world was hopeful that the answer would be yes. Almost 200 nations came together for the first time in two decades, and reached what amounts to a Peace Agreement. It was a global consensus for tackling climate change, achieved, in large measure, thanks to the tireless efforts of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Let's give him a round of applause. To be sure, this deal is only the beginning, but how else could we stop the destruction of planet Earth? Except by building a global coalition and all working together. Coalitions like the Secretary General's Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance – a group of over 50 UN development agencies, financial institutions from all corners of the globe and NGOs led by the R20 – Regions of Climate Action. Alliances like these can turn the pledges of Paris into solar and wind power plants, and to clean transportation systems, and to ending the concept of wastes, and to a global economy that is sustainable for generations to come. Massive new infrastructure like that, thanks in large part to the Paris Agreement, will get us halfway there, halfway to the necessary reduction of greenhouse gases and begin a meaningful shift of our global economy away from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy, and efficient use of our precious resources.
The rest is up to all of us. Yes! Each of us must play a part in holding our leaders accountable for their Paris promises and persuading them to finish the job. We must educate ourselves about the problem, speak up on behalf of the solutions, and most importantly, vote for leaders who respond before it is too late for things like ending tax breaks for fossil fuels, putting a price on carbon, and a rapid transition to a 100 percent renewable energy. We can use our purchasing power to support companies that understand the same thing and deliver sustainable low-carbon products and services to the world. We can support and volunteer for community organizations that are helping us to adapt to some of the harsh realities that climate change is already reeking on our oceans, our cities, our farms, our health and the natural world all around us.
We have waited too long and are already suffering the consequences. But I've also seen the seeds of peace and the solutions to climate change – ideas and innovation planted in the minds of schoolchildren, world leaders, entrepreneurs, faith leaders, mothers and fathers. It is in that awareness and willingness to take action that we must place our faith and hopes in the future.
So, my friends, my message to you today can be summed up by another Messenger of Peace, a great Mahatma Gandhi, who said, "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history." Let today be the day we all come become determined spirits together. I have faith that we can alter the course of our planet's history before it is too late. But it is up to all of us.
Thank you so much!
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