{"id":23613,"date":"2014-11-15T21:57:04","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T10:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=23613"},"modified":"2019-04-13T23:56:24","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T13:56:24","slug":"obamas-brisbane-climate-clarion-call-to-australia-and-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/obamas-brisbane-climate-clarion-call-to-australia-and-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama&#8217;s Brisbane climate clarion call to Australia and the world"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/52ZPlDSmEj4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As we develop, as we focus on our econ, we cannot forget the need to lead on the global fight against climate change.\u00a0 Now, I know that\u2019s &#8212; (applause) &#8212; I know there\u2019s been a healthy debate in this country about it.\u00a0 (Laughter.)\u00a0 Here in the Asia Pacific, nobody has more at stake when it comes to thinking about and then acting on climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Here, a climate that increases in temperature will mean more extreme and frequent storms, more flooding, rising seas that submerge Pacific islands.\u00a0 Here in Australia, it means longer droughts, more wildfires.\u00a0 The incredible natural glory of the Great Barrier Reef is threated.\u00a0 Worldwide, this past summer was the hottest on record.\u00a0 No nation is immune, and every nation has a responsibility to do its part.<\/p>\n<p>And you\u2019ll recall at the beginning I said the United States and Australia has a lot in common.\u00a0 Well, one of the things we have in common is we produce a lot of carbon.\u00a0 Part of it\u2019s this legacy of wide-open spaces and the frontier mentality, and this incredible abundance of resources.\u00a0 And so, historically, we have not been the most energy-efficient of nations, which means we\u2019ve got to step up.<\/p>\n<p>In the United States, our carbon pollution is near its lowest levels in almost two decades &#8212; and I\u2019m very proud of that.\u00a0 Under my Climate Action Plan, we intend to do more.\u00a0 In Beijing, I announced our ambitious new goal &#8212; reducing our net greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2025, which will double the pace at which we\u2019re reducing carbon pollution in the United States.\u00a0 Now, in a historic step, China made its own commitment, for the first time, agreeing to slow, peak and then reverse the course of China\u2019s carbon emissions.\u00a0 And the reason that\u2019s so important is because if China, as it develops, adapts the same per capita carbon emissions as advanced economies like the United States or Australia, this planet doesn\u2019t stand a chance, because they\u2019ve got a lot more people.<\/p>\n<p>So them setting up a target sends a powerful message to the world that all countries &#8212; whether you are a developed country, a developing country, or somewhere in between &#8212; you\u2019ve got to be able to overcome old divides, look squarely at the science, and reach a strong global climate agreement next year.\u00a0 And if China and the United States can agree on this, then the world can agree on this.\u00a0 We can get this done.\u00a0 And it is necessary for us to get it done.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Because I have not had to go to the Great Barrier Reef &#8212; (laughter) &#8212; and I want to come back, and I want my daughters to be able to come back, and I want them to be able to bring their daughters or sons to visit.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 And I want that there 50 years from now.<\/p>\n<p>Now, today, I\u2019m announcing that the United States will take another important step.\u00a0 We are going to contribute $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund so we can help developing nations deal with climate change.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 So along with the other nations that have pledged support, this gives us the opportunity to help vulnerable communities with an early-warning system, with stronger defenses against storm surges, climate-resilient infrastructure.\u00a0 It allows us to help farmers plant more durable crops.\u00a0 And it allows us to help developing countries break out of this false choice between development and pollution; let them leap-frog some of the dirty industries that powered our development; go straight to a clean-energy economy that allows them to grow, create jobs, and at the same time reduce their carbon pollution.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019ve very proud of the work that we have already done.\u00a0 We are mindful of the great work that still has to be done on this issue.\u00a0 But let me say, particularly again to the young people here:\u00a0 Combating climate change cannot be the work of governments alone.\u00a0 Citizens, especially the next generation, you have to keep raising your voices, because you deserve to live your lives in a world that is cleaner and that is healthier and that is sustainable.\u00a0 But that is not going to happen unless you are heard.<\/p>\n<p>It is in the nature of things, it is in the nature of the world that those of us who start getting gray hair are a little set in our ways, that interests are entrenched &#8212; not because people are bad people, it\u2019s just that\u2019s how we\u2019ve been doing things.\u00a0 And we make investments, and companies start depending on certain energy sources, and change is uncomfortable and difficult.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why it\u2019s so important for the next generation to be able to step and say, no, it doesn\u2019t have to be this way.\u00a0 You have the power to imagine a new future in a way that some of the older folks don\u2019t always have.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Full speech here:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/m.whitehouse.gov\/the-press-office\/2014\/11\/15\/remarks-president-obama-university-queensland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Remarks by President Obama at the University of Queensland<\/a><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we develop, as we focus on our econ, we cannot forget the need to lead on the global fight against climate change.\u00a0 Now, I know that\u2019s &#8212; (applause) &#8212; I know there\u2019s been a healthy debate in this country about it.\u00a0 (Laughter.)\u00a0 Here in the Asia Pacific, nobody has more at stake when it [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3434,651,585],"tags":[1873,1378,1013,168,2288,1105,1564,481,2298,2297],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Obama.jpg?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t0mw-68R","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}