IPCC quotes from around the world

onFeb 3, 2007 @ 09:36 PST

With the IPCC Summary for Policymakers out yesterday, and the science clearer than ever, here are some choice quotes from world leaders. Send in yours and I will add them to this collection.

“While climate changes run like a rabbit, world politics move like a snail: either we accelerate or we risk disaster.” – Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, Italy’s Environment Minister

“I think the science is clear that these changes are occurring, They’re serious and we must act.” – Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

“We are on the historic threshold of the irreversible. Faced with this emergency, the time for half measures is finished. It is time for a revolution. A new industrial revolution, that of sustainable development, lies before us.” – Jacques Chirac, President of France

“We are now beyond a critical turning point in the debate; those who continue to ignore the threat and its causes, or invoke half-baked arguments to confuse and obstruct, will be doing the greatest disservice imaginable to current and future generations. This is a wake-up call to the world’s largest emitter, the United States.” – Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, South Africa’s Environment Minister.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

us/Inside the Struggle to Dismantle America’s Greenhouse Gas Data

ByRachel Santarsiero

onAug 18, 2026 @ 05:00 PDT

New accounts show the oil and gas industry trying to weaken methane reporting while saving the federal emissions system it relies on.

Big Oil Could Face ‘Catastrophic Outcomes’ Without Republican Supreme Court

BySarah Hofmann

onAug 17, 2026 @ 14:21 PDT

At the American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual meeting, members of Leonard Leo’s network explain why the right-wing court majority is crucial for protecting oil companies from climate lawsuits.