UN General Assembly
2020

Whilst the immediate priority of countries around the globe is the restarting of the economy and the protection of people’s health, we cannot side-line environmental issues and the need to move closer to carbon neutrality. It is for this reason that I look towards a future where we have a carbon neutral planet by 2050. Because if anything, the pandemic has highlighted the value of our quality of life and the protection of human health. This is why, when we announced my country’s long-term economic vision for 2050 a couple of days ago, we made it a point to include carbon neutrality as one of its pillars of our economic policy. As economic growth has very little meaning if people are not living a better life. We must therefore invest all our efforts to address challenges related to pollution, air quality, cleanliness and emmissions. We cannot forget the millions of premature deaths linked to air pollution every year. We have an obligation to act without delay. Mr President,