[NV Greens] Fwd: USGP-INT Wangari Maathi's Kyoto Protocol Keynote Address

[Paul Etxeberri]

>
>http://www.gbmna.org/a.php?id=65
>
>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.
>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand