Intheyearssincethisprizewasfirstawarded,theentirerelationshipbetweenhumankindandtheearthhasbeenradicallytransformed.Andstill,wehaveremainedlargelyoblivioustotheimpactofourcumulativeactions.
Morethantwodecadesago,scientistscalculatedthatnuclearwarcouldthrowsomuchdebrisandsmokeintotheairthatitwouldblocklife—givingsunlightfromouratmosphere,causinga「nuclearwinter」.TheireloquentwarningshereinOslohelpedgalvanizetheworld』sresolvetohaltthenucleararmsrace.
Nowscienceiswarningusthatifwedonotquicklyreducetheglobalwarmingpollutionthatistrappingsomuchoftheheatourplanetnormallyradiatesbackoutoftheatmosphere,weareindangerofcreatingapermanent「carbonsummer」.
Wemustquicklymobilizeourcivilizationwiththeurgencyandresolvethathaspreviouslybeenseenonlywhennationsmobilizedforwar.Theywerecallsuponthecourage,generosityandstrengthofentirepeoples,citizensofeveryclassandconditionwhowerereadytostandagainstthethreatonceaskedtodoso.Ourenemiesinthosetimescalculatedthatfreepeoplewouldnotrisetothechallengetheywere,ofcourse,catastrophicallywrong.
Nowcomesthethreatofclimatecrisis—athreatthatisreal,rising,imminentanduniversal.Thepenaltiesforignoringthischallengeareimmenseandgrowing,andatsomenearpointwouldbeunsustainableandunrecoverable.Fornowwestillhavethepowertochooseourfate,andtheremainingquestionisonlythis:Havewethewilltoactvigorouslyandintime,orwillweremainimprisonedbyadangerousillusion?
MahatmaGandhiawakenedthelargestdemocracyonearthandforgedasharedresolvewithwhathecalled「Satyagraha」—or「truthforce」.
Truthalsohasthepowertouniteusandbridgethedistancebetween「me」and「we」,creatingthebasisforcommoneffortandsharedresponsibility.
ThereisanAfricanproverbthatsays,「Ifyouwanttogoquickly,goalone.Ifyouwanttogofar,gotogether.」Weneedtogofar,quickly.
Wemustabandontheconceitthatindividual,isolated,privateactionsaretheanswer.Theycananddohelp.Buttheywillnottakeusfarenoughwithoutcollectiveaction.Atthesametime,wemustensurethatinmobilizingglobally,wedonotinvitetheestablishmentofideologicalconformityandanewlock-step「ism」.
Thatmeansadoptingprinciples,values,lawsandtreatiesthatreleasecreativityandinitiativeateverylevelofsocietyinmultifoldresponsesoriginatingconcurrentlyandspontaneously.
Thisnewconsciousnessrequiresexpandingthepossibilitiesinherentinallhumanity.Theinnovatorswhowilldeviseanewwaytoharnessthesun』senergyforpenniesorinventanenginethat』scarbonnegativemayliveinLagosorMumbaiorMontevideo.Wemustensurethatentrepreneursandinventorseverywhereontheglobehavethechancetochangetheworld.
Whenweuniteforamoralpurposethatismanifestlygoodandtrue,thespiritualenergyunleashedcantransformus.Thegenerationthatdefeatedfascismthroughouttheworldinthe1940sfound,inrisingtomeettheirawesomechallenge,thattheyhadgainedthemoralauthorityandlong-termvisiontolaunchtheMarshallPlan,theUnitedNations,andanewlevelofglobalcooperationandforesightthatunifiedEuropeandfacilitatedtheemergenceofdemocracyandprosperityinGermany,Japan,Italyandmuchoftheworld.Oneoftheirvisionaryleaderssaid,「Itistimewesteeredbythestarsandnotbythelightsofeverypassingship.」
Inthelastyearofthatwar,yougavethePeacePrizetoamanfrommyhometownoftwothousandpeople,Carthage,Tennessee.CordellHullwasdescribedbyFranklinRooseveltasthe「FatheroftheUnitedNations」.Hewasaninspirationandherotomyownfather,whofollowedHullintheCongressandtheU.S.Senateandinhiscommitmenttoworldpeaceandglobalcooperation.
MyparentsspokeoftenofHull,alwaysintonesofreverenceandadmiration.Eightweeksago,whenyouannouncedthisprize,thedeepestemotionIfeltwaswhenIsawtheheadlineinmyhometownpaperthatsimplynotedIhadwonthesameprizethatCordellHullhadwon.Inthatmoment,Iknewwhatmyfatherandmotherwouldhavefeltweretheyalive.
JustasHull』sgenerationfoundmoralauthorityinrisingtosolvetheworldcrisiscausedbyfascism,sotoocanwefindourgreatestopportunityinrisingtosolvetheclimatecrisis.IntheKanjicharactersusedinbothChineseandJapanese,「crisis」iswrittenwithtwosymbols,thefirstmeaning「danger」,thesecond「opportunity」.Byfacingandremovingthedangeroftheclimatecrisis,wehavetheopportunitytogainthemoralauthorityandvisiontovastlyincreaseourowncapacitytosolveothercrisesthathavebeentoolongignored.