Mr.Leonardo DiCaprio delivered a speech at the signing ceremony of Paris COP21 in UN. He quoted Lincoln on his speech :
'President Abraham Lincoln was also thinking of bold action 150 years ago :The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present, as our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country.'
'He was speaking in front of congress to discuss slavery. Everyone knew it had to end, but no one had the political will to stop it. Remarkably his words ring as true today when applied to the defining crisis of our time: climate change.'
Mr.DiCaprio said an 'upheaval, a massive change' is required by everyone in order to save the planet from its current state.
'One that leads to a new collective consciousness, a new collective evolution of the human race, inspired and enabled by a sense of urgency from all of you,' he said.
When he finished his speech, he brought climate change back to the words Lincoln said so many years ago.
19 March 2016 – The United Nations will go dark later this evening as the Organization shuts off the lights at its iconic Headquarters complex in New York and other facilities around the world in observance of 'Earth Hour,' an annual global event to put the spotlight on the issues facing the planet and to inspire millions across the world to live more sustainably.
In a video message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said: “This year's Earth Hour comes at a pivotal moment. Last December, all the world's Governments came together to adopt the Paris Agreement on climate change. This is a historic achievement for people and the planet – but only if we follow through on the promises made.”
Organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour encourages individuals, companies, organizations and Governments to switch off their lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m., local time worldwide, to focus attention on people-driven solutions to protecting the planet and building a bright, sustainable future.
Mr. Ban notes that the world is now entering a new era of opportunity. “Together, we can create the low-emissions future the world needs for sustainable development and a life of dignity and stability for all. Earth Hour reminds us that we all have a role to play.”
First launched in 2007, Earth Hour has become an annual event, mobilizing hundreds of millions of individuals to participate and growing to become the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment.
According to the WWF, the UN family will join the thousands of homes, offices, skylines and monuments that will go dark to put the spotlight on the issues facing the planet, and to inspire millions across the world to live more sustainably. At least 178 countries and territories are expected to take part in this year's celebrations.
So far over 366 landmarks are confirmed and will be turning off on the night of Earth Hour including iconic sites such as the Brandenburg Gate, Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House, the Roman Colosseum and Marina Bay Sands.
Amongst participating countries this year 90 are taking actions to achieve impact during Earth Hour through digital interactions, engaging local communities and raising awareness, adds the WWF.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General, your excellencies, ladies and gentleman, and distinguished guests. I’m honored to be here today, I stand before you not as an expert but as a concerned citizen, one of the 400,000 people who marched in the streets of New York on Sunday, and the billions of others around the world who want to solve our climate crisis.
As an actor I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters often solving fictitious problems.
I believe humankind has looked at Climate Change in that same way: as if it were a fiction, happening to someone else’s planet, as if pretending that Climate Change wasn’t real would somehow make it go away.
But I think we know better than that. Every week , we’re seeing new and undeniable Climate Events, evidence that accelerated Climate Change is here now. We know that droughts are intensifying, our oceans are warming and acidifying, with methane plumes rising up from beneath the ocean floor. We are seeing extreme weather events, increased temperatures, and the West Antarctic and Greenland ice-sheets melting at unprecedented rates, decades ahead of scientific projections.
None of this is rhetoric, and none of it is hysteria. It is fact. The scientific community knows it, Industry and Governments know it, even the United States military knows it. The Chief of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, recently said that Climate Change is our single greatest security threat.
My Friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task. You can make history...or be vilified by it.
To be clear, this is not about just telling people to change their light bulbs or to buy a hybrid car. This disaster has grown BEYOND the choices that individuals make. This is now about our industries, and governments around the world taking decisive, large-scale action.
I am not a scientist, but I don't need to be. Because the world’s scientific community has spoken, and they have given us our prognosis, if we do not act together, we will surely perish.
Now is our moment for action
We need to put a price tag on carbon emissions, and eliminate government subsidies for coal, gas, and oil companies. We need to end the free ride that industrial polluters have been given in the name of a free-market economy, they don't deserve our tax dollars, they deserve our scrutiny. For the economy itself will die if our eco-systems collapse.
The good news is that renewable energy is not only achievable but good economic policy. New research shows that by 2050 clean, renewable energy could supply 100% of the world’s energy needs using EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES, and it would create millions of jobs.
This is not a partisan debate; it is a human one. Clean air and water, and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation - if, admittedly, a daunting one…
We only get one planet. Humankind must become accountable on a massive scale for the wanton destruction of our collective home. Protecting our future on this planet depends on the conscious evolution of our species.
This is the most urgent of times, and the most urgent of messages.
Honored delegates, leaders of the world, I pretend for a living.
But you do not. The people made their voices heard on Sunday around the world and the momentum will not stop. And now it’s YOUR turn, the time to answer the greatest challenge of our existence on this planet... is now.
I beg you to face it with courage. And honesty.
Thank you.
