"I will engage in a series of discussions on the urgency of addressing climate change,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said recently in Jakarta, Indonesia. “I wanted to start right here, in Jakarta, because this city – this country – this region – is really on the front lines of climate change."
There are many global threats that know no borders -- including terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- and Secretary Kerry strongly believes that climate change ranks with all of them.
“When thousands of the world’s leading scientists . . . tell us over and over again that our climate is changing, that it is happening faster than they ever predicted . . . and when they tell us that we humans are the significant cause, let me tell you something: We need to listen,” Secretary Kerry emphasized. “When 97 percent of scientists agree on anything, we need to listen, and we need to respond.”
“If the worst-case scenario about climate change, all the worst predictions . . . never materialize, what will be the harm that is done from having made the decision to respond to it?” Secretary Kerry asked.
“We would actually leave our air cleaner . . . our water cleaner . . . our food supply more secure . . . [and] our populations . . . healthier,” he continued. “But imagine if the 97 percent of those scientists are correct and the people who say no are wrong. Then the people who say no will have presented us with one of the most catastrophic, grave threats in the history of human life.”
Secretary Kerry said, “Ultimately, every nation on Earth has a responsibility to do its part if we have any hope of leaving our future generations the safe and healthy planet that they deserve.”
There are many global threats that know no borders -- including terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- and Secretary Kerry strongly believes that climate change ranks with all of them.
“When thousands of the world’s leading scientists . . . tell us over and over again that our climate is changing, that it is happening faster than they ever predicted . . . and when they tell us that we humans are the significant cause, let me tell you something: We need to listen,” Secretary Kerry emphasized. “When 97 percent of scientists agree on anything, we need to listen, and we need to respond.”
“If the worst-case scenario about climate change, all the worst predictions . . . never materialize, what will be the harm that is done from having made the decision to respond to it?” Secretary Kerry asked.
“We would actually leave our air cleaner . . . our water cleaner . . . our food supply more secure . . . [and] our populations . . . healthier,” he continued. “But imagine if the 97 percent of those scientists are correct and the people who say no are wrong. Then the people who say no will have presented us with one of the most catastrophic, grave threats in the history of human life.”
Secretary Kerry said, “Ultimately, every nation on Earth has a responsibility to do its part if we have any hope of leaving our future generations the safe and healthy planet that they deserve.”
