I believe humankind has looked at climate change in that same way: as if it were a

fiction, happening to someone elses planet, as if pretending that climate change

wasnt real would somehow make it go away.
But I think we know better than that. Every week, were 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 US navys 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 dont need to be. Because the worlds 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 pricetag 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 dont
deserve our tax dollars, they deserve our scrutiny. For the economy itself will die if
our ecosystems 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 worlds 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.
Honoured 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 its 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.
In the past, the major need of people in this world was arable land. Man did not
have to think about animate things. However, now the adverse effects on forests
through over-population and the development of various chemical elements in the
atmosphere have led to irregular rainfall and global warming. This global warming
has brought changes in climate, including making perennial snow mountains melt,
thereby adversely affecting not only human beings but also other living species.
This dangerous situation is being taken very seriously by the world. In the past the
perennial snow mountains of Tibet had very thick snow. Older people say that these
mountains were covered with thick snow when they were young and that the snows
are getting sparser which may be an indication of the end of the world. It is a fact
that climate change is a slow process taking thousands of years to realize its effect.
Living beings and plant life on this planet also undergo change accordingly. Man's
physical structure too changes from generation to generation along with the change
in climatic conditions.
Because of the growth in the population, a large number of trees are cut for fuel,
and to reclaim land for agricultural cultivation. In the case of Tibet, too, the Chinese
have now destroyed its ancient trees in a similar way to shaving a man's hair off.

This is not simply the destruction of trees but it also means harming what belongs
to the Tibetans. Similarly, the continuing decline in forests in many parts of the
world, including America, is adversely affecting the already changing global climate,
thus upsetting the lives, not only of mankind, but also of all living beings.
Similarly, the harmful effect on the atmosphere brought about by chemical
emissions in industrialized countries is a very dangerous sign. Although this is a new
thing for us Tibetans, the world is paying a lot of attention to this problem. It is the
responsibility of us, who speak of the welfare of all sentient beings, to contribute
towards this.
Since I too have a responsibility in this matter, (i.e. to work for the protection of the
environment and to see that the present and future generations of mankind can
make use of refreshing shade and fruits of trees), I bought these seeds of fruitbearing" trees with part of my Nobel Peace Prize money to be distributed now, to
people representing different regions (all the continents of the world are
represented here) during this Kalachakra gathering. These seeds have been kept
near the Kalachakra mandala for purification and blessings. Since these include
seeds of apricot, walnut, papaya, guava, etc., suitable for planting under varying
geographical conditions, experts in respective places 'should be consulted on their
planting and care and, thus, you all should see my sincere aspiration is fulfilled.
What he helpfully calls Giddens's Paradox runs thus: however massive the dangers
posed by climate change, their lack of immediate visibility in daily life means many
people will do nothing concrete to tackle it; by the time they are prompted to action
it will, by definition, be too late.
Other issues are semi-invisible to the naked eye but huge in their consequences. It
has been apparent for years that our energy infrastructure needs renewal and yet,
as we report today, business leaders warn that ministers are still not doing enough
to ensure the UK does not run out of power. Today's energy strategy from the
Confederation of British Industry is not averse to a plea for a subsidy here and a sop
there. Ministers should approve new coal plants, it says, even without carbon
capture and storage.
One cannot blame business lobby groups for lobbying. Where the CBI certainly is
right is in pointing out that renewing our energy infrastructure offers an important
route to move the economy to a lower-carbon footing. After all, nearly 40% of
Britain's carbon emissions come from electricity generation. Yet the credit crunch is
having a particularly disastrous impact on the renewables industry, which is
struggling to raise finance. Even big players are pulling in their horns. Last week BP
announced that it is to cut 620 jobs from its solar energy business. The company's
"Beyond Petroleum" slogan should be revised - "Back to Petroleum" would now be
more appropriate.
Markets do not ever do the long term especially well, but they get particularly
myopic during a crisis. This poses a particular problem for Labour, which has long

favoured a private led approach to both energy provision and to adapting to climate
change. Worryingly, there was little sign of this altering at last week's G20 summit.
True, there were the necessary warm words in the communique. But a summit that
was supposed to define the terms on which the world economy is to be rebuilt has
ducked the toughest challenge - how to reconcile prosperity with environmental
security.
The same is true of the fiscal stimulus being launched by so many countries. Much
of the money is being burned trying to reheat the old, carbon-intensive economy.
For every South Korea, which claims 81% of its stimulus is green, there is a Britain,
at just 7%. That pathetic figure is half the world average. Amid a market crisis, the
UK government is still failing to assume a leadership role. This must change - and
soon. Taken to its logical conclusion, Giddens's Paradox does not point to a happy
ending.