Al Gore gives his speech at the opening of the world leaders summit at the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27). Please take 15 minutes to listen to his masterclass on Climate change and why we should be changing our behaviour and take action now.
Key messages
His key message is that we have to stop talking and take action now. First of all, Al Gore said we are treating the thin blue shell that protects us, our atmosphere, as “an open sewer”.
Secondly he stated that “Today, like every day, we are spewing a 162 million tons of manmade heat trapping global warming pollution into the sky. It adds up and accumulates there… The accumulated amount traps as much extra heat as it would be released by 60,000 Hiroshima-class atomic bombs exploding every day in our planet. That’s why we are seeing these disasters,” he underscored, warning that is getting even worse.
Renewable Super powers
Al Gore states that Africa could be the world’s renewable super Power. The potential of the continent’s solar and wind technologies is 400 times larger than the total of the fossil fuel reserves left. He complimented the Australian Federal Government for passing the Climate bill in September this year. The Climate bill maps a path to:
- renewable energy
- reducing Green house gas emissions by 43% before 2030
- while paving the way for a Net Zero economy by 2050.
Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity, while at the same time it is also the biggest opportunity. It is an opportunity to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. It’s a 4 trillion US dollar business opportunity and your business can be part of it by leading the change.
Global shift towards sustainable behaviour
First of all, the journey starts with awareness of the opportunity to participate and commit to action. Start exploring ways to contribute and make a difference. For example by reading our blogpost series about the SDGs and SDG 7: Renewable energy in particular. For example, by carefully considering climate impacts as well as impacts on society when making everyday business decisions. Or, by making sure to actually ask the right questions as part of your sustainable and social procurement policies.
Taking these initial steps is about behavioural change and together we can make a difference. We’re here to support you in your journey and help you engage with your stakeholders to start the conversation. Start your journey now with the SDG Align Toolkit.
About COP 27
At COP 27, countries come together to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement and the Convention. Building on the outcomes and momentum of COP 26 in Glasgow last year, nations are expected to demonstrate at COP 27 that they are in a new era of implementation by turning their commitments under The Paris Agreement into action. The conference is held from 6-18 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
About UNFCCC
The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. UNFCCC stands for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Convention has near universal membership (197 Parties) and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep the global average temperature rise this century as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate objective of all three agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.
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