Celebration of the Coming to Force of The Kyoto protocol
Kyoto, Japan
February 16, 2005
Wangari Maathai with Congolese women in the Republic of Congo, February 2005. Photo: Marcus Agar.
The Chair, Honorable Ministers, Excellencies, Honored Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me to thank the organizers of this meeting for the excellent arrangements and facilitation. I am particularly grateful to the Mainichi Newspapers and the Ministries of Environment & Foreign Affairs, who worked together to make this trip possible, fruitful and very pleasant. My delegation and I are deeply indebted.
It is indeed a great honor for me to be here in this beautiful city of Kyoto, amongst friends and associates, to witness and celebrate the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.
I take this opportunity to appreciate the recent decision by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to expand our understanding of peace and security. By awarding the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize to me for my environmental work the committee brought sustainable management of the environment to center stage.
As I have said before, although the glory and the honor have come to me, it is recognition for all of us who work in the area of environment, democracy and peace. It is also recognition of the efforts of countless women especially in developing countries. I want to emphasize this because I want all of us to feel part of it and to be encourage by it.
If the world invested more in the environment, sustainable development, good governance and equitable distribution of resources, many of conflicts in the world would be pre-empted. The concept of peace has to be expanded to include the environment.
Today marks the end of a long process for the survival of all species on the planet earth, including our own. It is also the beginning of an even more engaging phase when the treaty must be implemented. We must remain committed and focused. The biosphere needs the Kyoto Protocol and we welcome its coming into force.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of all us, I wish to record our appreciation to the 128 countries who have ratified the Protocol and the millions of their citizens on whose behalf they endorsed it. Many of these citizens are online celebrating with us.
I especially wish to congratulate the Japanese Government for its contribution to the Kyoto process and for the committed leadership it has and will continue to provide in the days ahead.
Thank you Japan.
We hope that we can rely on the group of the most industrialized countries, The G8, to continue to prioritize Climate Change. This also involves addressing the issues which make it difficult for poor countries to make their contribution to this agenda. These issues include the burden of international debts, trade barriers and lack of adequate financial support to make the critical economic turn. Without addressing these issues it will be difficult to realize the Millennium Development Goals and make poverty history.
One of the questions that comes up often in the press is what I think about countries that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol yet. What I say is that we should at this time be positive and look forward. We are here mark the coming to force of the treaty on Climate Change and we want to celebrate.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We all know, even in those countries where the Protocol is yet to be ratified, there are millions of individual citizens and groups, who subscribe to the spirit and letter of the Kyoto protocol. Let us join them and celebrate with them.
We must remember that it is the actions of such individual citizens that will ensure the Kyoto protocol yields fruits. Even if all governments signed the treaty but citizens did not subscribe and take action, the treaty would show no impact.
It is also those same citizens who will continue to urge their governments to come along and join the rest of the world for the sake of life on our planet earth. They have enormous commitment and have taken personal steps to reduce over consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases. We applaud them and urge them to continue. They are on board.
Like them, we must believe in ourselves individually and collectively and believe that we can make a difference. We must start with ourselves and continue taking those small personal steps to reduce the global rise in temperature. Together, we form a multitude and we can bring about the desired change- locally and globally.
Even though there is a general consensus that the issue of climate change is urgent, the movement towards action is always slow in coming. This is because the projected negative impact on the environment is slow, away from every day occurrence and therefore, even disputable. It is also because many of us have become used to our lifestyle and are not easily persuaded to consume less and reduce greenhouse gases. Further, those of us who are rushing to catch up with the highly industrialized world are not willing to be persuaded to slow down.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The projected negative impact of climate change is also unfortunately likely to negatively impact the next generation.
Researchers on climate change continue to warn that greenhouse gases are already causing gradual rise in temperatures and that sensitive habitats, water, food and fisheries are at risk. Scientists also predict that as these insecurities increase, they will cause mass movements of environmental refugees in search of water, food, grazing land and a better quality of life. Such movements would generate tension and conflict and cause mass movement of environmental refugees.
I encourage all of us to support initiatives from different groups and regions. In developing countries we should encourage afforestation programs and indeed the protection of already existing forests that would provide carbon sinks.
In this connection, I wish to appeal to the international community to pay attention to the Congo Basin, the largest ecological system in Africa and the second largest in the world after the Amazon Basin. Its survival is essential for the stability of the global climate. Indeed, it is part of the global “lung.”
In closing let me say, we live on a planet, whose resources are finite. The current level of consumption of the planet’s resources is unsustainable.
My fellow world citizens, in view of the fact that the future generations may bear the burden of our decisions today, let us apply the precautionary principle and curb the rising tide.
We are the generation that can still make a difference.
Domo Arigato. Thank you very much.
Allow me to thank the organizers of this meeting for the excellent arrangements and facilitation. I am particularly grateful to the Mainichi Newspapers and the Ministries of Environment & Foreign Affairs, who worked together to make this trip possible, fruitful and very pleasant. My delegation and I are deeply indebted.
It is indeed a great honor for me to be here in this beautiful city of Kyoto, amongst friends and associates, to witness and celebrate the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.
I take this opportunity to appreciate the recent decision by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to expand our understanding of peace and security. By awarding the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize to me for my environmental work the committee brought sustainable management of the environment to center stage.
As I have said before, although the glory and the honor have come to me, it is recognition for all of us who work in the area of environment, democracy and peace. It is also recognition of the efforts of countless women especially in developing countries. I want to emphasize this because I want all of us to feel part of it and to be encourage by it.
If the world invested more in the environment, sustainable development, good governance and equitable distribution of resources, many of conflicts in the world would be pre-empted. The concept of peace has to be expanded to include the environment.
Today marks the end of a long process for the survival of all species on the planet earth, including our own. It is also the beginning of an even more engaging phase when the treaty must be implemented. We must remain committed and focused. The biosphere needs the Kyoto Protocol and we welcome its coming into force.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of all us, I wish to record our appreciation to the 128 countries who have ratified the Protocol and the millions of their citizens on whose behalf they endorsed it. Many of these citizens are online celebrating with us.
I especially wish to congratulate the Japanese Government for its contribution to the Kyoto process and for the committed leadership it has and will continue to provide in the days ahead.
Thank you Japan.
We hope that we can rely on the group of the most industrialized countries, The G8, to continue to prioritize Climate Change. This also involves addressing the issues which make it difficult for poor countries to make their contribution to this agenda. These issues include the burden of international debts, trade barriers and lack of adequate financial support to make the critical economic turn. Without addressing these issues it will be difficult to realize the Millennium Development Goals and make poverty history.
One of the questions that comes up often in the press is what I think about countries that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol yet. What I say is that we should at this time be positive and look forward. We are here mark the coming to force of the treaty on Climate Change and we want to celebrate.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We all know, even in those countries where the Protocol is yet to be ratified, there are millions of individual citizens and groups, who subscribe to the spirit and letter of the Kyoto protocol. Let us join them and celebrate with them.
We must remember that it is the actions of such individual citizens that will ensure the Kyoto protocol yields fruits. Even if all governments signed the treaty but citizens did not subscribe and take action, the treaty would show no impact.
It is also those same citizens who will continue to urge their governments to come along and join the rest of the world for the sake of life on our planet earth. They have enormous commitment and have taken personal steps to reduce over consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases. We applaud them and urge them to continue. They are on board.
Like them, we must believe in ourselves individually and collectively and believe that we can make a difference. We must start with ourselves and continue taking those small personal steps to reduce the global rise in temperature. Together, we form a multitude and we can bring about the desired change- locally and globally.
Even though there is a general consensus that the issue of climate change is urgent, the movement towards action is always slow in coming. This is because the projected negative impact on the environment is slow, away from every day occurrence and therefore, even disputable. It is also because many of us have become used to our lifestyle and are not easily persuaded to consume less and reduce greenhouse gases. Further, those of us who are rushing to catch up with the highly industrialized world are not willing to be persuaded to slow down.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The projected negative impact of climate change is also unfortunately likely to negatively impact the next generation.
Researchers on climate change continue to warn that greenhouse gases are already causing gradual rise in temperatures and that sensitive habitats, water, food and fisheries are at risk. Scientists also predict that as these insecurities increase, they will cause mass movements of environmental refugees in search of water, food, grazing land and a better quality of life. Such movements would generate tension and conflict and cause mass movement of environmental refugees.
I encourage all of us to support initiatives from different groups and regions. In developing countries we should encourage afforestation programs and indeed the protection of already existing forests that would provide carbon sinks.
In this connection, I wish to appeal to the international community to pay attention to the Congo Basin, the largest ecological system in Africa and the second largest in the world after the Amazon Basin. Its survival is essential for the stability of the global climate. Indeed, it is part of the global “lung.”
In closing let me say, we live on a planet, whose resources are finite. The current level of consumption of the planet’s resources is unsustainable.
My fellow world citizens, in view of the fact that the future generations may bear the burden of our decisions today, let us apply the precautionary principle and curb the rising tide.
We are the generation that can still make a difference.
Domo Arigato. Thank you very much.