UN General Assembly
2016

That is why we need to follow through on our efforts to combat climate change. If we do not act boldly, the bill that could come due will be mass migrations, cities submerged, nations displaced, food supplies decimated and conflicts borne of despair. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change gives us a framework to act, but only if we scale up our ambitions. There must be a sense of urgency about bringing the Agreement into force and helping poorer countries leapfrog destructive forms of energy. For the wealthiest countries, therefore, a green climate fund should be just the beginning. We need to invest in research and provide market incentives to develop new technologies and then make those technologies accessible and affordable for poor countries. Only then can we continue lifting all people up from poverty without condemning our children to a planet beyond their capacity to repair it.