UN Chief Guterres Blames Climate for Nepal Flash Flood Disaster: I Sounded the Alarm Three Years Ago

TRANSCRIPT:

GUTERRES: "Excellencies, the third great power test is the climate crisis. In many ways, it's the most profound intergenerational power imbalance of all, one generation consuming the future of the next, one group profiting while those least responsible suffer first and worse. Three years ago, in the mountains of Nepal, I sounded the alarm on accelerating glacier melts, warning that the rooftops of the world are caving in. Some dismissed it all as overstating dangers, but as tragic events even have shown, impacts are arriving sooner, hitting harder and spreading further than many anticipated. Now we face a near certain breach of the 1.5 degree limit with a super sized El Niño speeding straight for humanity. The dangers are real, but so is the hope. The last decade has fueled one of the most promising shifts in power of all time: the rise of clean energy. The sun belongs to no one. The wind cannot be embargoed. Innovation can come from everywhere. And this is a profound rebalancing of power relations. Renewables are now the cheapest source of new electricity in most of the world and the most viable path to energy security, independence and sustainable growth."