The Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC are meeting in Poland, at a summit commonly coined COP24. Three years ago this collection of global representatives settled upon the Paris Agreement, however, major governments such as the USA, Saudi Arabia and Russia have joined together to obstruct solutions and water down the agreement. This crucial meeting is an opportunity to reflect on where it all began and what still must be done.
At our 2015 Summit, counsellors and ambassadors made an impassioned call for international leaders to take action on climate change, as part of the #CallOnCOP initiative. Below are a few examples of their heartfelt messages:
Mary Robinson, President of the Mary Robinson Foundation
“Change course to a safer world, a better world for all”
Kofi Annan, Chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation
“The stakes are simply too high, the timing is urgent”
Bob Geldof, political activist and philanthropist
“The poor will be the first affected, and the worst affected”
Bryant Zebedy, Republic of Marshall Islands
“We are drowning. We do not want to be climate refugees in the future”
Lam-ya Mostaque, Bangladesh
“Taking action on climate change is not a luxury for Bangladesh, it is a question of survival ”
Wilhelm Oddo, Tanzania
“It is not too late to do something for the future of your sons, the future of your daughters, the future of your grandchildren”
Hai Ly Nguyen, Vietnam
“There is no doubt that global warming has severe local impacts, disrupting Vietnam’s progress on poverty reduction and the realisation of our Sustainable Development Goals”
Arizza Nocum, Philippines
“Bring the youth, academia, businesses and government together to form solutions that both manage the effects of climate change and prevent them all together”
Eduord Korostelev, Russia
“We can no longer put environment on the earth's backseat”
Lamia AlGwaiz, Saudi Arabia
“The problem is not about an individual, it's about a population, it's about a country and it's about one world.”
If intrigued or inspired by these speeches, find out more from our incredible counsellors and delegates here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp7iueYZU6DxShrZYwTvOIURsmLT2dUJO