theyearssincethisrizewasfirstawarded,theentirerelationshibetweenhumankindandtheearthhasbeenradicallytransformed。Andstill,wehaveremainedlargelyoblivioustotheimactofourcumulativeactions。
Morethantwodecadesago,scientistscalculatedthatnuclearwarcouldthrowsomuchdebrisandsmokeintotheairthatitwouldblocklife—givingsunlightfromouratmoshere,causinga“nuclearwinter”。TheireloquentwarningshereinOsloheledgalvanizetheworld’sresolvetohaltthenucleararmsrace。
Nowscienceiswarningusthatifwedonotquicklyreducetheglobalwarmingollutionthatistraingsomuchoftheheatourlanetnormallyradiatesbackoutoftheatmoshere,weareindangerofcreatingaermanent“carbonsummer”。
Wemustquicklymobilizeourcivilizationwiththeurgencyandresolvethathasreviouslybeenseenonlywhennationsmobilizedforwar。Theywerecallsuonthecourage,generosityandstrengthofentireeoles,citizensofeveryclassandconditionwhowerereadytostandagainstthethreatonceaskedtodoso。Ourenemiesinthosetimescalculatedthatfreeeolewouldnotrisetothechallengetheywere,ofcourse,catastrohicallywrong。
Nowcomesthethreatofclimatecrisis—athreatthatisreal,rising,imminentanduniversal。Theenaltiesforignoringthischallengeareimmenseandgrowing,andatsomenearointwouldbeunsustainableandunrecoverable。Fornowwestillhavetheowertochooseourfate,andtheremainingquestionisonlythis:Havewethewilltoactvigorouslyandintime,orwillweremainimrisonedbyadangerousillusion?
MahatmaGandhiawakenedthelargestdemocracyonearthandforgedasharedresolvewithwhathecalled“Satyagraha”—or“truthforce”。
Truthalsohastheowertouniteusandbridgethedistancebetween“me”and“we”,creatingthebasisforcommoneffortandsharedresonsibility。
ThereisanAfricanroverbthatsays,“Ifyouwanttogoquickly,goalone。Ifyouwanttogofar,gotogether。”Weneedtogofar,quickly。
Wemustabandontheconceitthatindividual,isolated,rivateactionsaretheanswer。Theycananddohel。Buttheywillnottakeusfarenoughwithoutcollectiveaction。Atthesametime,wemustensurethatinmobilizingglobally,wedonotinvitetheestablishmentofideologicalconformityandanewlock-ste“ism”。
Thatmeansadotingrinciles,values,lawsandtreatiesthatreleasecreativityandinitiativeateverylevelofsocietyinmultifoldresonsesoriginatingconcurrentlyandsontaneously。
Thisnewconsciousnessrequiresexandingtheossibilitiesinherentinallhumanity。Theinnovatorswhowilldeviseanewwaytoharnessthesun’senergyforenniesorinventanenginethat’scarbonnegativemayliveinLagosorMumbaiorMontevideo。Wemustensurethatentrereneursandinventorseverywhereontheglobehavethechancetochangetheworld。
Whenweuniteforamoralurosethatismanifestlygoodandtrue,thesiritualenergyunleashedcantransformus。Thegenerationthatdefeatedfascismthroughouttheworldinthe1940sfound,inrisingtomeettheirawesomechallenge,thattheyhadgainedthemoralauthorityandlong-termvisiontolaunchtheMarshallPlan,theUnitedNations,andanewlevelofglobalcooerationandforesightthatunifiedEuroeandfacilitatedtheemergenceofdemocracyandroserityinGermany,Jaan,Italyandmuchoftheworld。Oneoftheirvisionaryleaderssaid,“Itistimewesteeredbythestarsandnotbythelightsofeveryassingshi。”
Inthelastyearofthatwar,yougavethePeacePrizetoamanfrommyhometownoftwothousandeole,Carthage,Tennessee。CordellHullwasdescribedbyFranklinRooseveltasthe“FatheroftheUnitedNations”。Hewasaninsirationandherotomyownfather,whofollowedHullintheCongressandtheU。S。Senateandinhiscommitmenttoworldeaceandglobalcooeration。
MyarentssokeoftenofHull,alwaysintonesofreverenceandadmiration。Eightweeksago,whenyouannouncedthisrize,thedeeestemotionIfeltwaswhenIsawtheheadlineinmyhometownaerthatsimlynotedIhadwonthesamerizethatCordellHullhadwon。Inthatmoment,Iknewwhatmyfatherandmotherwouldhavefeltweretheyalive。
JustasHull’sgenerationfoundmoralauthorityinrisingtosolvetheworldcrisiscausedbyfascism,sotoocanwefindourgreatestoortunityinrisingtosolvetheclimatecrisis。IntheKanjicharactersusedinbothChineseandJaanese,“crisis”iswrittenwithtwosymbols,thefirstmeaning“danger”,thesecond“oortunity”。Byfacingandremovingthedangeroftheclimatecrisis,wehavetheoortunitytogainthemoralauthorityandvisiontovastlyincreaseourowncaacitytosolveothercrisesthathavebeentoolongignored。
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