Many celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Prince Harry and Mark Ruffalo have spoken about fighting climate change. But, only a few advocates of climates have been able to inspire millions with their great speeches.
Al Gore’s Speech
When we talk about things like climate change, we can’t ignore Al Gore’s stance on the topic. In fact, the 45th vice president of the United States declared himself once as an optimist about the world’s progress on climate change. As the founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, Al Gore has been pushing and encouraging the world to maintain optimism and take “climate action.”
His speech about the world facing a “planetary emergency” was so inspiring that it led to the creation of a documentary film called “An Inconvenient Truth.” After that, he became known for his climate change advocacy.
So, let’s take a look at a part of his speech:
“One of the greatest gifts of our democracy is the opportunity it offers us every four years to change course. It’s not a guarantee; it’s only an opportunity. The question facing us is, simply put, will we seize this opportunity for change? That’s why I came here tonight: to tell you why I feel so strongly that we must seize this opportunity to elect Barack Obama president of the United States.
Eight years ago, some said there was not much difference between the nominees of the two major parties and it didn’t really matter who became president. Our nation was enjoying peace and prosperity. Some assumed we would continue both, no matter the outcome. But here we all are in 2008, and I doubt anyone would argue now that election didn’t matter…
Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now, because John McCain — a man who has earned our respect on many levels — is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them. The same policies all over again?
Hey, I believe in recycling, but that’s ridiculous. With John McCain’s support, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led our nation into one calamity after another because of their indifference to fact; their readiness to sacrifice the long term to the short term, subordinate the general good to the benefit of the few and short-circuit the rule of law.”
Speech at the Seventeenth Regular Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment
Driven by the need to represent a dynamic force in the global arena in the protection of our environment, a meeting was held and an inspiring speech was given.
“I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses. We must never forget that it is our duty to protect this environment.” Those are the words of Nelson Mandela. Never have they sounded more urgent.
We are in trouble. Our world is rapidly heating up, biodiversity is being destroyed at an alarming rate and we are consuming more resources than the planet can sustain. “Humanity faces an existential crisis,” as the UN secretary general puts it.
But we know that the solutions are in our hand – whether it to halve emissions by 2030; craft out a new relationship with nature; or transform the way we live, produce and consume. And we also know that time is of the essence. The window for environmental action is shrinking.
And Africa which bears the least responsibility for the climate emergency will be amongst the worst affected.
But when we train a laser focus on the environmental challenges on the region, we will be writing a new chapter in the continent’s history, one where overcoming environmental challenges will bring prosperity to the continent.
We are already seeing great strides towards this future. From wildlife conservation, forest regeneration and conservation, pollution control and legislation on single-use plastic, adoption of green economy approaches, Africa has much success to report. More than 90 percent of countries have ratified their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – the most of any region in the world. Governments across the continent have established policy frameworks for ambitious climate action.
It is why AMCEN is right to identify global warming and biodiversity loss as the main problems facing Africa. And why it is right to see the blue economy and the circular economy as the tools to overcome these challenges.”