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.
