Development
Climate change at UNGA 81
Raised by 151 of 223 speakers. Read verbatim UN transcript quotes and select a time to hear the speech.
Speeches that raised climate change
Democratic Republic of the Congo · Day 2Judith Suminwa TulukaThis ought to be the ambition of the United Nations.
Mr. President, we cannot speak of restoring trust toward the UN, let alone of a transformation As long as the UN continues to reflect a world that is ceased to exist, the world of 1945 no longer exists.
Digital revolution, energy transition, and climate dysregulation are now altering equilibria.
7passages
Ethiopia · Day 2Taye Atske-Selassie AmdeMr. President, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for placing before us the defining imperatives of our era, namely artificial intelligence, the climate crisis, and deepening global inequalities.
These are not only policy choices, they are the pivots upon which human destiny is determined.
The United Nations has achieved remarkable victories against extreme poverty, but it has never been enough.
5passages
Andorra · Day 2Xavier Espot ZamoraIt is a promise, the promise that the place where a person is born should not determine their opportunities, life expectancy, or future.
The effects of global warming, are being felt across many of the world's regions, from coastal areas and river deltas to the most vulnerable territories, which are increasingly exposed to extreme weather events.
Andorra experiences them from its mountains.
4passages
Latvia · Day 2Edgars RinkēvičsAnd nature respects no borders either.
Heat waves do not stop at checkpoints.
Rising seas threaten to raise island nations.
3passages
Czechia · Day 2Petr PavelThe choice is not between innovation and rules.
It is between innovation governed by rules and innovation governed by the logic of the race.
Ladies and gentlemen, artificial intelligence is not the only challenge that no country can manage alone.
3passages
Palau · Day 2Surangel WhippsI stand before this assembly for a people whose future depends on a healthy ocean and a stable climate, and the sovereign right to determine their own path.
For us, sovereignty is lived in our ability to feed our people from healthy oceans, power our homes independently from distant fuel markets, and protect our shorelines from rising seas and chart our own path.
It is a responsibility that grows more urgent each day, especially as UNEP's latest findings make clear that the world is now certain to exceed 1.5.
3passages
Cyprus · Day 2Nikos ChristodoulidesAnd through Cyprus Aid, we have provided humanitarian assistance to countries facing natural disasters.
Cyprus was among the first responders following the catastrophic earthquake in Venezuela and the flash floods in Nepal.
The devastating humanitarian situation in Sudan and the wider Sahel region have also been a priority for my country, with a large percentage of our resources directed to the region.
3passages
Botswana · Day 2Duma Gideon BokoAnd delivering for all requires us to move beyond declarations towards tangible improvements in the lives and livelihoods of our peoples.
Ultimately, our declarations, communiques, and resolutions must travel the difficult road from this assembly hall to the daily lives of the peoples we represent.
Persistent conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and growing divisions have tested trust between nations.
3passages
Poland · Day 2Karol NawrockiLadies and gentlemen, strengthening the resilience of nations and building stability.
However, it cannot overlook one more dimension of responsibility, the responsibility for the world we will leave to future generations.
It is our duty to future generations to leave them a clean, safe environment.
3passages
Namibia · Day 2Netumbo Nandi-NdaitwahNamibia reaffirms the Sevilla commitment as an important step towards reforming the international financial architecture and strengthening the global partnership for sustainable development.
The system must thus become more inclusive, equitable and responsive to the realities of the middle income countries.
Mr. President, the world is experiencing increasing devastating floods, heat waves, frequent hurricanes, and prolonged period of drought.
3passages
Eswatini · Day 2King Mswati IIIYet, at a time when conflicts persist, inequalities deepen, climate-related disasters intensify, and countless communities continue to struggle against poverty and insecurity, the international community must renew its commitment to global cooperation.
To ordinary people across the globe, this Assembly must not be perceived merely as a forum where the world discusses its problems, but as an organization that actively solves them.
The true test of international cooperation is whether a child in a conflict-affected community can live without fear.
3passages
Honduras · Day 2Nasry Juan Asfura ZablahToday, we are weathering a severe drought, and we are taking tangible decisions to support our most vulnerable citizens.
The hurricanes that have beset us in the past and today's drought have the same root cause, That is a climate which is operating at increasing extremes and that will affect the entire world for decades.
Our response is not simply to react to these disasters.
3passages
Montenegro · Day 2Jakov MilatovićClimate change is testing the resilience of states and of societies, and artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are creating risks at a speed that national frameworks alone cannot adequately address.
So the answer cannot be less multilateralism.
It must be more effective multilateralism.
3passages
Spain · Day 2Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejóndisregarding scientific evidence and assuming that there are countries that are so powerful that they can abuse all of the others and they don't need anyone else to prosper.
And the third pillar, the worst in my opinion, is cruelty.
Cruelty that isn't even moved when it sees the ribs of a starving child or a hospital reduced to rubble.
3passages
Bulgaria · Day 2Iliana IotovaThis is our common objective, societies in which Differences do not divide us, hate does not define us, and the rights and dignity of all are protected.
Environmental responsibility is one of the fundamental principles of sustainable development.
Unfortunately for us, in the context of the war in Ukraine, this topic is becoming ever more urgent.
2passages
Central African Republic · Day 2Faustin Archange TouaderaI say this with the conviction of lived experience Holding out one's hand to yesterday's opponent is not a sign of weakness.
It is often the safest path toward a lasting peace.
And that is why I renew the proposal that the CARR has been making for several sessions now to establish a global conflict prevention and mediation mechanism with predictable financing and that is managed with complete transparency.
2passages
Panama · Day 2José Raúl Mulino QuinteroWe're proud of being a country that connects the world through trade.
Having the canal that unites two oceans, that transports goods from all countries of the world without any distinction, that is an icon of integration.
This strategic canal for the free world, once again, is suffering the consequences of climate change.
2passages
Mozambique · Day 2Daniel Francisco Chapoand it gave voice to those that during many time remained on the margin of international decisions.
Today, however, the promise that we face is one of the toughest tests as we live in a world marked by protected wars, growing geopolitical rivalities, persistent humanitarian crisis, severe weather events, and other highly complex challenges at the world.
At the same time, Your Excellency, the digital revolution, the demographic changes, and the organization of the value chains are transforming our economies every day and the society at an unprecedented pace.
2passages
Uzbekistan · Day 2Saida MirziyoyevaThat is, the Aral Sea.
It didn't dry up due to a natural disaster.
This is a consequence of decades of wrong decisions and unjust treatment of nature.
2passages
Burundi · Day 2Évariste NdayishimiyeIndeed, Mr. President, climate change strikes the most vulnerable populations particularly hard.
Africa has contributed little to historical greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is already suffering severe consequences.
We therefore call for stronger international solidarity on adaptation, climate financing, and technology transfer.
1passages
Estonia · Day 2Alar KarisMillions of people suffering in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar.
Sometimes we tend to forget that behind the numbers, there are always human beings, families separated, children affected, homes destroyed and lives disrupted by conflict.
Over the past three years, more than 1,000 humanitarian workers have lost their lives, and beyond ongoing wars and conflicts, There is a looming crisis brought on by climate change, one in which time is running out for us to act.
1passages
Timor-Leste · Day 2José Ramos-HortaPresident, the more or less reaffirmed the principles of climate justice, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances.
Greater climate ambition must be accompanied by accessible, predictable finance, adaptation support, technology transfer and capacity building.
Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies reshape our societies.
1passages
Dominican Republic · Day 2Luis Rodolfo Abinader CoronaFor a small island country, climate change is not an abstract matter, ladies and gentlemen.
Our vulnerability is not a statistical category.
It's the reality that we're experiencing.
1passages
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) · Day 2Delcy Eloína Rodríguez GómezIn 2026, Venezuela was forced to face two major painful tests to its life as a nation.
One was the test that arose from the suffocation of its internal political life and a dispute with the United States of America, which was ratcheted up and became more extreme.
Another test arose from nature's savagery.
1passages
Italy · Day 2Antonio TajaniFood security concerns us all and demands common solutions.
To address this challenge, we are working side by side with United Nations Rome-based agencies, making available the best Italian expertise from agriculture and food production to satellite technologies that help reduce the use of land, water, and pesticides.
Food security and water security are part of the same struggle.
1passages