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104 Environmental Speech Topics [Persuasive, Informative]

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Environmental speech topics and essay writing on angles of view regarding different aspects of our ecology for public speaking. Hope these helpful ideas will sparkle your fantasy!

In this article:

Informative

Environmental.

• The danger of ocean oil spills.
• Recycling should be mandatory.
• Why oil needs to be conserved.
• Why we should use reusable bags.
• Why palm oil should be banned.
• Ban mining in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Disposable diapers are hazardous to the environment.
• The environment is more important than genetics in determining how a person will turn out.
• The danger of oil drilling in Alaska.
• Fishing regulations are necessary to preserve the environment.
• Endangered species need protection.
• We need to invest more in alternative fuels.
• Endangered oceans deserve protection.
• We should strive for a paperless society.
• Conserve our global resources.
• Rain forests need to be protected.
• The principal threats of land degradation in Asia / Africa / South America (choose one continent for your thesis focus).
• Ocean acidification (a decline in the pH degree of ocean waters) endangers marine organisms.
• The main causes of massive coral bleaching (the whitening of corals).
• The advantages of an intercropping system for sustainable plant production.
• Environmentalists are misusing the term sustainable development.
• Why we should be concerned about ozone depletion in Earth’s stratosphere.
• Bottom trawling (dragging huge nets along the sea floor) is killing for the benthic ecological organisms.
• The benefits of microbes to humans.
• Make you own Carbon Footprint and realize how polluting you are.
• Why the carbon tax should be the next stage in our capitalist world.
• How to manage E-waste streams in modern India.
• Emissions trading or exchangeable emission permits work contra-productive in the urgency to blow back global warming.
• Debt-for-nature swaps are natural friendly policies.
• Renewable energy technologies like wind energy, hydroelectricity, biomass and solar power should be stimulated by the government.
• How to apply green ecological sustainable computing (or green IT) at your home PC or Mac.
• The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the worst man-made mishap in American history. Environmental persuasive speech topics can also be found after that big crash at sea – e.g. in Nigeria.
• We should handle with care the dangers and risks of exhausting our fossil fuel resources on earth, and protect the innocent sea life.
• Global warming demands more joined global action than Kopenhagen did.
• Encourage livestock owners to adopt sustainable grazing systems.
• Environmental damage of energy consumption force us to use energy alternatives.
• Mankind is responsible for the large loss of biodiversity in nature.
• Avoid using plastic bags.
• Buy natural and organic produced, and fair trade products.
• Our ever-expanding consumerism has killed the earth.
• Sacrifice a little bit of the economic growth for the good of the environment.
• Give tax cuts to companies to develop solar, wind and forms of hydrogen energy.
• There should be a green tax on aviation fuel.
• Why stores need to stop supplying plastic bags
• Are green jobs really green and environmentally friendly?
• TV news program weather forecasts are not accurate at all.
• The only effective litter prevention method is to force recycling.
• Recycling helps with green house effects.
• Only energy efficient household appliances should be sold.
• Nuclear power is a good alternative energy source.
• Keep your thermostat at 68 F in Winter and 72 F in Summer.
• Hunting sports harm the biodiversity.
• Hundreds of thousands of species will go extinct by 2060.
• Buying durable goods will save the world.
• We are wasting the opportunity to waste less.
• Water pollution will be the world’s biggest problem in the next years.
• Natural disasters stimulate economic growth.
• We are killing the rainforest, our planet’s lungs.
• The change of our climate pattern is not natural.
• The effects of global warming are not overestimated by scientists and green activists.
• Restrict every household to 50 gallon can on trash and yard waste a week.
• Rural development is the main cause of wildfires and extensive damage in the past years.
• Energy alternatives are the only solution to the environmental damage.
• Paying higher energy prices is a sacrifice we have to make for cleaner fuels.
• Construction plans must include an environment-section.
• Promote earthfriendly cars by tax benefits.

Why can’t the discussion about nuclear energy just be about the sole bare facts instead of political bias all the time?

6 additional persuasive environmental speech topics

Persuasive environmental speech topics to increase the quality of your persuasive communication skills, detailed layouts on Natural Resources, Radio Active Waste Management, and Intensive Farming  are even applicable on essay writing goals.

Can We Write Your Speech?

Get your audience blown away with help from a professional speechwriter. Free proofreading and copy-editing included.

Examine the opportunities I offer, and assemble you own speaking text based on the sample series of reasons below.

That logic reasoning process in the end will result in a nice and substantial blueprint, and a sample argumentation scheme for a debate on good persuasive environmental speech topics.

Excessive Use of Natural Resources Leads to Depletion In The End.

Radioactive materials are – without exception I would state – firm persuasive environmental speech topics and essay discourse themes for students. E.g.:

Radio Active Waste Management.

Intensive farming has many pros and cons. In the next example I deal with the cons. Note that each of them could be used as single persuasive environmental speech topics for a debate or essay:

The Disadvantages of Intensive Farming.

You also could take the opposite side and defend the pro-intensive farming arguments by attacking and replacing them for reasons in favor of the supporters of intensive farming. That will provoke immediate discussion among your listeners. Furthermore I would like to share alternative options for persuasive environmental speech topics:

• Endangered species;
• Marine debris and microplastics;
• The sea level rise.

Endangered species – The international list of protected animals. E.g. the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN. Sharpen your persuasive communication skills and judge the conditions for protection.

Marine debris and microplastics – More and more are our ocean, seas, lakes and rivers polluted. Littering: plastic bottles, bags, and so on. Persuade your audience to act. Let them support coastal volunteer operations to remove and prevent debris.

The sea level rise – What is bad about it? What are the predictions of meteorologists regarding the reported weather and climate changes? What should we do to stop it? Is it possible to stop the rise of the sea level anyway?

• The fundamentals of logistics for oil and gas exploration.
• Wildlife protection programs.
• Plants, animals and organisms that live in the ocean.
• The greatest rainforests in the world.
• Facts and figures of littering in our community
• Domestic water waste treatment plans.
• Safety issues of nuclear power plants.
• Local communities can contribute to maintenance of fragile ecosystems.
• Global concern about climate change rose dramatically after Al Gore made his documentary.
• The importance of sustainable development for future generations.
• What is at stake with greenhouse carbon gas emissions?
• Water is the upcoming hot issue in the Middle East.
• Availability and purity of water.
• The Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai – the smart innovative energy reuser.
• South-American tropical forests.
• Global climate change is not only caused by humans.
• We need a healthy environment.
• The effects of global warming.
• Why conserving energy is important.
• The negative aspects of a polluted environment.
• The great Pacific garbage patch.
• The ways that water pollution is harmful.
• The effects of industrial and household waste.
• What is global warming?
• The benefits of organic farming.
• Why drought is a serious problem.
• The pollution of today’s world.
• The importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.
• The effects of environmental degradation.
• Why should we save birds.
• Why we should save the Ganges.
• How to recycle different materials.

212 Speech Topics For College Students [Persuasive, Informative, Impromptu]

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Home — Essay Samples — Environment — Climate Change — Climate Change Informative Speech

Climate Change Informative Speech

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Published: Mar 19, 2024

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Four Powerful Climate Change Speeches to Inspire You

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Looking to be inspired to take action on climate change? Watch these four powerful climate change speeches, and get ready to change the world.

Climate change is the most pressing concern facing us and our planet. As such, we need powerful action, and fast, from both global leaders and global corporations, right down to individuals.

I’ve got over 70 climate change and sustainability quotes to motivate people and inspire climate action. But if it is more than quotes you need then watch these four impassioned climate change speeches. These speeches are particularly good if you are looking for even more inspiration to inspire others to take climate action.

The Sustainability Speeches To Motivate You

Here are the speeches to know – I’ve included a video of each speech plus a transcript to make it easy to get all the information you need. Use the quick links to jump to a specific speech or keep scrolling to see all the speeches.

Greta Thunberg’s Climate Change Speech at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit

Leonardo dicaprio’s climate change speech at the 2014 un climate summit, yeb sano’s climate change speech at the united nations climate summit in warsaw, greta thunberg’s speech at houses of parliament.

In September 2019 climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the U.N.’s Climate Action Summit in New York City with this inspiring climate change speech:

Here’s the full transcript of Greta Thunberg’s climate change speech. It begins with Greta’s response to a question about the message she has for world leaders.

My message is that we’ll be watching you.

This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you’re doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe.

The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50% chance of staying below 1.5°C, and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

Fifty per cent may be acceptable to you. But those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO 2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist.

So a 50% risk is simply not acceptable to us — we who have to live with the consequences.

To have a 67% chance of staying below a 1.5°C global temperature rise – the best odds given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the world had 420 gigatons of CO 2 left to emit back on January 1st, 2018. Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatons.

How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just ‘business as usual’ and some technical solutions? With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO 2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8 and a half years.

There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.

We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.

Leonardo DiCaprio gave an impassioned climate change speech at the 2014 UN Climate Summit. Watch it now:

Here’s a transcript of Leonardo DiCaprio’s climate change speech in case you’re looking to quote any part of it.

Thank you, Mr Secretary General, your excellencies, ladies and gentleman, and distinguished guests. I’m honoured to be here today, I stand before you not as an expert but as a concerned citizen. One of the 400,000 people who marched in the streets of New York on Sunday, and the billions of others around the world who want to solve our climate crisis.

As an actor, I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters often solving fictitious problems.

I believe humankind has looked at climate change in that same way. As if it were fiction, happening to someone else’s planet, as if pretending that climate change wasn’t real would somehow make it go away.

But I think we know better than that. Every week, we’re seeing new and undeniable climate events, evidence that accelerated climate change is here now .  We know that droughts are intensifying.  Our oceans are warming and acidifying, with methane plumes rising up from beneath the ocean floor. We are seeing extreme weather events, increased temperatures, and the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets melting at unprecedented rates, decades ahead of scientific projections.

None of this is rhetoric, and none of it is hysteria. It is fact. The scientific community knows it. Industry and governments know it. Even the United States military knows it. The chief of the US Navy’s Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, recently said that climate change is our single greatest security threat.

My friends, this body – perhaps more than any other gathering in human history – now faces that difficult task. You can make history or be vilified by it.

To be clear, this is not about just telling people to change their light bulbs or to buy a hybrid car. This disaster has grown BEYOND the choices that individuals make. This is now about our industries, and governments around the world taking decisive, large-scale action.

I am not a scientist, but I don’t need to be. Because the world’s scientific community has spoken, and they have given us our prognosis. If we do not act together, we will surely perish.

Now is our moment for action.

We need to put a price tag on carbon emissions and eliminate government subsidies for coal, gas, and oil companies. We need to end the free ride that industrial polluters have been given in the name of a free-market economy. They don’t deserve our tax dollars, they deserve our scrutiny. For the economy itself will die if our ecosystems collapse.

The good news is that renewable energy is not only achievable but good economic policy. New research shows that by 2050 clean, renewable energy could supply 100% of the world’s energy needs using existing technologies, and it would create millions of jobs.

This is not a partisan debate; it is a human one. Clean air and water, and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation – if, admittedly, a daunting one.

We only get one planet. Humankind must become accountable on a massive scale for the wanton destruction of our collective home. Protecting our future on this planet depends on the conscious evolution of our species.

This is the most urgent of times, and the most urgent of messages.

Honoured delegates, leaders of the world, I pretend for a living. But you do not. The people made their voices heard on Sunday around the world and the momentum will not stop. And now it’s YOUR turn, the time to answer the greatest challenge of our existence on this planet is now.

I beg you to face it with courage. And honesty. Thank you.

The Philippines’ lead negotiator  Yeb Sano  addressed the opening session of the UN climate summit in Warsaw in November 2013. In this emotional and powerful climate change speech he called for urgent action to prevent a repeat of the devastating storm that hit parts of the Philippines:

Transcript of Yeb’s Climate Change Speech

Here’s a transcript of Yeb’s climate change speech:

Mr President, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the resilient people of the Republic of the Philippines.

At the onset, allow me to fully associate my delegation with the statement made by the distinguished Ambassador of the Republic of Fiji, on behalf of G77 and China as well as the statement made by Nicaragua on behalf of the Like-Minded Developing Countries.

First and foremost, the people of the Philippines, and our delegation here for the United Nations Climate Change Convention’s 19 th  Conference of the Parties here in Warsaw, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your expression of sympathy to my country in the face of this national difficulty.

In the midst of this tragedy, the delegation of the Philippines is comforted by the warm hospitality of Poland, with your people offering us warm smiles everywhere we go. Hotel staff and people on the streets, volunteers and personnel within the National Stadium have warmly offered us kind words of sympathy. So, thank you Poland.

The arrangements you have made for this COP is also most excellent and we highly appreciate the tremendous effort you have put into the preparations for this important gathering.

We also thank all of you, friends and colleagues in this hall and from all corners of the world as you stand beside us in this difficult time.

I thank all countries and governments who have extended your solidarity and for offering assistance to the Philippines.

I thank the youth present here and the billions of young people around the world who stand steadfastly behind my delegation and who are watching us shape their future.

I thank civil society, both who are working on the ground as we race against time in the hardest-hit areas, and those who are here in Warsaw prodding us to have a sense of urgency and ambition.

We are deeply moved by this manifestation of human solidarity. This outpouring of support proves to us that as a human race, we can unite; that as a species, we care.

It was barely 11 months ago in Doha when my delegation appealed to the world… to open our eyes to the stark reality that we face… as then we confronted a catastrophic storm that resulted in the costliest disaster in Philippine history.

Less than a year hence, we cannot imagine that a disaster much bigger would come. With an apparent cruel twist of fate, my country is being tested by this hellstorm called Super Typhoon Haiyan, which has been described by experts as the strongest typhoon that has ever made landfall in the course of recorded human history.

It was so strong that if there was a Category 6, it would have fallen squarely in that box. Up to this hour, we remain uncertain as to the full extent of the devastation, as information trickles in an agonisingly slow manner because electricity lines and communication lines have been cut off and may take a while before these are restored.

The initial assessment shows that Haiyan left a wake of massive devastation that is unprecedented, unthinkable, and horrific, affecting 2/3 of the Philippines, with about half a million people now rendered homeless, and with scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of a tsunami, with a vast wasteland of mud and debris and dead bodies.

According to satellite estimates, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also estimated that Haiyan achieved a minimum pressure between around 860 mbar (hPa; 25.34 inHg) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated Haiyan to have attained one-minute sustained winds of 315 km/h (195 mph) and gusts up to 378 km/h (235 mph) making it the strongest typhoon in modern recorded history.

Despite the massive efforts that my country had exerted in preparing for the onslaught of this monster of a storm, it was just a force too powerful, and even as a nation familiar with storms, Super Typhoon Haiyan was nothing we have ever experienced before, or perhaps nothing that any country has every experienced before.

The picture in the aftermath is ever so slowly coming into clearer focus. The devastation is colossal. And as if this is not enough, another storm is brewing again in the warm waters of the western Pacific. I shudder at the thought of another typhoon hitting the same places where people have not yet even managed to begin standing up.

To anyone who continues to deny the reality that is climate change, I dare you to get off your ivory tower and away from the comfort of your armchair.

I dare you to go to the islands of the Pacific, the islands of the Caribbean and the islands of the Indian Ocean and see the impacts of rising sea levels; to the mountainous regions of the Himalayas and the Andes to see communities confronting glacial floods, to the Arctic where communities grapple with the fast dwindling polar ice caps, to the large deltas of the Mekong, the Ganges, the Amazon, and the Nile where lives and livelihoods are drowned, to the hills of Central America that confront similar monstrous hurricanes, to the vast savannahs of Africa where climate change has likewise become a matter of life and death as food and water becomes scarce.

Not to forget the massive hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern seaboard of North America. And if that is not enough, you may want to pay a visit to the Philippines right now.

The science has given us a picture that has become much more in focus. The IPCC report on climate change and extreme events underscored the risks associated with changes in the patterns as well as the frequency of extreme weather events.

Science tells us that simply, climate change will mean more intense tropical storms. As the Earth warms up, that would include the oceans. The energy that is stored in the waters off the Philippines will increase the intensity of typhoons and the trend we now see is that more destructive storms will be the new norm.

This will have profound implications on many of our communities, especially who struggle against the twin challenges of the development crisis and the climate change crisis. Typhoons such as Yolanda (Haiyan) and its impacts represent a sobering reminder to the international community that we cannot afford to procrastinate on climate action. Warsaw must deliver on enhancing ambition and should muster the political will to address climate change.

In Doha, we asked, “If not us then who? If not now, then when? If not here, then where?” (borrowed from Philippine student leader Ditto Sarmiento during Martial Law). It may have fell on deaf ears. But here in Warsaw, we may very well ask these same forthright questions. “If not us, then who? If not now, then when? If not here in Warsaw, where?”

What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness. The climate crisis is madness.

We can stop this madness. Right here in Warsaw.

It is the 19 th  COP, but we might as well stop counting because my country refuses to accept that a COP30 or a COP40 will be needed to solve climate change.

And because it seems that despite the significant gains we have had since the UNFCCC was born, 20 years hence we continue to fail in fulfilling the ultimate objective of the Convention. 

Now, we find ourselves in a situation where we have to ask ourselves – can we ever attain the objective set out in Article 2 – which is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system? By failing to meet the objective of the Convention, we may have ratified the doom of vulnerable countries.

And if we have failed to meet the objective of the Convention, we have to confront the issue of loss and damage.

Loss and damage from climate change is a reality today across the world. Developed country emissions reduction targets are dangerously low and must be raised immediately. But even if they were in line with the demand of reducing 40-50% below 1990 levels, we would still have locked-in climate change and would still need to address the issue of loss and damage.

We find ourselves at a critical juncture and the situation is such that even the most ambitious emissions reductions by developed countries, who should have been taking the lead in combatting climate change in the past two decades, will not be enough to avert the crisis.

It is now too late, too late to talk about the world being able to rely on Annex I countries to solve the climate crisis. We have entered a new era that demands global solidarity in order to fight climate change and ensure that the pursuit of sustainable human development remains at the fore of the global community’s efforts. This is why means of implementation for developing countries is ever more crucial.

It was the Secretary-general of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 1992, Maurice Strong who said that “History reminds us that what is not possible today, may be inevitable tomorrow.”

We cannot sit and stay helpless staring at this international climate stalemate. It is now time to take action. We need an emergency climate pathway.

I speak for my delegation. But more than that, I speak for the countless people who will no longer be able to speak for themselves after perishing from the storm. I also speak for those who have been orphaned by this tragedy. I also speak for the people now racing against time to save survivors and alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the disaster.

We can take drastic action now to ensure that we prevent a future where super typhoons are a way of life. Because we refuse, as a nation, to accept a future where super typhoons like Haiyan become a fact of life. We refuse to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, having to count our dead, become a way of life. We simply refuse to.

We must stop calling events like these as natural disasters. It is not natural when people continue to struggle to eradicate poverty and pursue development and get battered by the onslaught of a monster storm now considered as the strongest storm ever to hit land. It is not natural when science already tells us that global warming will induce more intense storms. It is not natural when the human species has already profoundly changed the climate.

Disasters are never natural. They are the intersection of factors other than physical. They are the accumulation of the constant breach of economic, social, and environmental thresholds.

Most of the time disasters are a result of inequity and the poorest people of the world are at greatest risk because of their vulnerability and decades of maldevelopment, which I must assert is connected to the kind of pursuit of economic growth that dominates the world. The same kind of pursuit of so-called economic growth and unsustainable consumption that has altered the climate system.

Now, if you will allow me, to speak on a more personal note.

Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in my family’s hometown and the devastation is staggering. I struggle to find words even for the images that we see from the news coverage. I struggle to find words to describe how I feel about the losses and damages we have suffered from this cataclysm.

Up to this hour, I agonize while waiting for word as to the fate of my very own relatives. What gives me renewed strength and great relief was when my brother succeeded in communicating with us that he has survived the onslaught. In the last two days, he has been gathering bodies of the dead with his own two hands. He is hungry and weary as food supplies find it difficult to arrive in the hardest-hit areas.

We call on this COP to pursue work until the most meaningful outcome is in sight. Until concrete pledges have been made to ensure mobilisation of resources for the Green Climate Fund. Until the promise of the establishment of a loss and damage mechanism has been fulfilled. Until there is assurance on finance for adaptation. Until concrete pathways for reaching the committed 100 billion dollars have been made. Until we see real ambition on stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. We must put the money where our mouths are.

This process under the UNFCCC has been called many names. It has been called a farce. It has been called an annual carbon-intensive gathering of useless frequent flyers. It has been called many names. But it has also been called “The Project To Save The Planet”. It has been called “Saving Tomorrow Today”. We can fix this. We can stop this madness. Right now. Right here, in the middle of this football field.

I call on you to lead us. And let Poland be forever known as the place we truly cared to stop this madness. Can humanity rise to the occasion? I still believe we can.

Finally, in April 2019, Greta spoke at the Houses of Parliament in the UK. Here she gave this powerful climate change speech to the UK’s political leaders:

Transcript of Greta’s Climate Change Speech

Here is the full transcript of Greta’s climate change speech:

My name is Greta Thunberg. I am 16 years old. I come from Sweden. And I speak on behalf of future generations.

I know many of you don’t want to listen to us – you say we are just children. But we’re only repeating the message of the united climate science.

Many of you appear concerned that we are wasting valuable lesson time, but I assure you we will go back to school the moment you start listening to science and give us a future. Is that really too much to ask?

In the year 2030, I will be 26 years old. My little sister Beata will be 23. Just like many of your own children or grandchildren. That is a great age, we have been told. When you have all of your life ahead of you. But I am not so sure it will be that great for us.

I was fortunate to be born in a time and place where everyone told us to dream big. I could become whatever I wanted to. I could live wherever I wanted to. People like me had everything we needed and more. Things our grandparents could not even dream of. We had everything we could ever wish for and yet now we may have nothing.

Now we probably don’t even have a future anymore.

Because that future was sold so that a small number of people could make unimaginable amounts of money. It was stolen from us every time you said that the sky was the limit and that you only live once.

You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to. And the saddest thing is that most children are not even aware of the fate that awaits us. We will not understand it until it’s too late. And yet we are the lucky ones. Those who will be affected the hardest are already suffering the consequences. But their voices are not heard.

Is my microphone on? Can you hear me?

Around the year 2030, 10 years 252 days and 10 hours away from now, we will be in a position where we set off an irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, that will most likely lead to the end of our civilisation as we know it. That is unless, in that time, permanent and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society have taken place, including a reduction of CO 2 emissions by at least 50%.

And please note that these calculations are depending on inventions that have not yet been invented at scale, inventions that are supposed to clear the atmosphere of astronomical amounts of carbon dioxide.

Furthermore, these calculations do not include unforeseen tipping points and feedback loops like the extremely powerful methane gas escaping from rapidly thawing arctic permafrost.

Nor do these scientific calculations include already locked-in warming hidden by toxic air pollution. Nor the aspect of equity – or climate justice – clearly stated throughout the Paris Agreement, which is absolutely necessary to make it work on a global scale.

We must also bear in mind that these are just calculations. Estimations. That means that these “points of no return” may occur a bit sooner or later than 2030. No one can know for sure. We can, however, be certain that they will occur approximately in these timeframes because these calculations are not opinions or wild guesses.

These projections are backed up by scientific facts, concluded by all nations through the IPCC. Nearly every single major national scientific body around the world unreservedly supports the work and findings of the IPCC.

Did you hear what I just said? Is my English OK? Is the microphone on? Because I’m beginning to wonder.

During the last six months, I have travelled around Europe for hundreds of hours in trains, electric cars, and buses, repeating these life-changing words over and over again. But no one seems to be talking about it, and nothing has changed. In fact, the emissions are still rising.

When I have been travelling around to speak in different countries, I am always offered help to write about the specific climate policies in specific countries. But that is not really necessary. Because the basic problem is the same everywhere. And the basic problem is that basically nothing is being done to halt – or even slow – climate and ecological breakdown, despite all the beautiful words and promises.

The UK is, however, very special. Not only for its mind-blowing historical carbon debt but also for its current, very creative, carbon accounting.

Since 1990 the UK has achieved a 37% reduction of its territorial CO 2 emissions, according to the Global Carbon Project. And that does sound very impressive. But these numbers do not include emissions from aviation, shipping, and those associated with imports and exports. If these numbers are included the reduction is around 10% since 1990 – or an average of 0.4% a year, according to Tyndall Manchester. And the main reason for this reduction is not a consequence of climate policies, but rather a 2001 EU directive on air quality that essentially forced the UK to close down its very old and extremely dirty coal power plants and replace them with less dirty gas power stations. And switching from one disastrous energy source to a slightly less disastrous one will of course result in a lowering of emissions.

But perhaps the most dangerous misconception about the climate crisis is that we have to “lower” our emissions. Because that is far from enough.

Our emissions have to stop if we are to stay below 1.5-2 ° C of warming. The “lowering of emissions” is of course necessary but it is only the beginning of a fast process that must lead to a stop within a couple of decades or less. And by “stop” I mean net-zero – and then quickly on to negative figures. That rules out most of today’s politics.

The fact that we are speaking of “lowering” instead of “stopping” emissions is perhaps the greatest force behind the continuing business as usual. The UK’s active current support of new exploitation of fossil fuels – for example, the UK shale gas fracking industry, the expansion of its North Sea oil and gas fields, the expansion of airports as well as the planning permission for a brand new coal mine – is beyond absurd.

This ongoing irresponsible behaviour will no doubt be remembered in history as one of the greatest failures of humankind.

People always tell me and the other millions of school strikers that we should be proud of ourselves for what we have accomplished. But the only thing that we need to look at is the emission curve. And I’m sorry, but it’s still rising. That curve is the only thing we should look at.

Every time we make a decision we should ask ourselves; how will this decision affect that curve? We should no longer measure our wealth and success in the graph that shows economic growth, but in the curve that shows the emissions of greenhouse gases. We should no longer only ask: “Have we got enough money to go through with this?” but also: “Have we got enough of the carbon budget to spare to go through with this?” That should and must become the centre of our new currency.

Many people say that we don’t have any solutions to the climate crisis. And they are right. Because how could we? How do you “solve” the greatest crisis that humanity has ever faced? How do you “solve” a war? How do you “solve” going to the moon for the first time? How do you “solve” inventing new inventions?

The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do. We must stop the emissions of greenhouse gases. The hardest because our current economics are still totally dependent on burning fossil fuels, and thereby destroying ecosystems in order to create everlasting economic growth.

“So, exactly how do we solve that?” you ask us – the schoolchildren striking for the climate.

And we say: “No one knows for sure. But we have to stop burning fossil fuels and restore nature and many other things that we may not have quite figured out yet.”

Then you say: “That’s not an answer!”

So we say: “We have to start treating the crisis like a crisis – and act even if we don’t have all the solutions.”

“That’s still not an answer,” you say.

Then we start talking about circular economy and rewilding nature and the need for a just transition. Then you don’t understand what we are talking about.

We say that all those solutions needed are not known to anyone and therefore we must unite behind the science and find them together along the way. But you do not listen to that. Because those answers are for solving a crisis that most of you don’t even fully understand. Or don’t want to understand.

You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before. Like now. And those answers don’t exist anymore. Because you did not act in time.

Avoiding climate breakdown will require cathedral thinking. We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.

Sometimes we just simply have to find a way. The moment we decide to fulfil something, we can do anything. And I’m sure that the moment we start behaving as if we were in an emergency, we can avoid climate and ecological catastrophe. Humans are very adaptable: we can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses.

We children are not sacrificing our education and our childhood for you to tell us what you consider is politically possible in the society that you have created. We have not taken to the streets for you to take selfies with us, and tell us that you really admire what we do.

We children are doing this to wake the adults up. We children are doing this for you to put your differences aside and start acting as you would in a crisis. We children are doing this because we want our hopes and dreams back.

I hope my microphone was on. I hope you could all hear me.

Hopefully, these climate change speeches will encourage you to take action in your local community. If you need more inspiration then head to my post on the best TED Talks on climate change , my guide to the best YouTube videos on climate change , and the sustainability poems to inspire you.

Found this post useful? Please consider buying me a virtual coffee to help support the site’s running costs.

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Wendy Graham is a sustainability expert and the founder of Moral Fibres. She's dedicated to bringing you sustainability advice you can trust.

Wendy holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Geography and an MSc (with Distinction) in Environmental Sustainability - specialising in environmental education.

As well as this, Wendy brings 17 years of professional experience working in the sustainability sector to the blog.

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How To Write An Effective Speech On Climate Change

Hrideep barot.

• Speech Writing

Believe it or not, climate change is real–and it’s human beings who’re responsible for a majority of it. Despite how commonly known this information is, it’s surprising how little importance people give to the lasting impact of their seemingly trivial actions.

Over the years, so many people have spoken up about climate change. These include world leaders, celebrities, politicians, and even common people like you and me. If you’ve got a speech on climate change coming up, you’re probably wondering how to make your speech stand out from all of the ones before you.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to help you with today.

To write an effective speech on climate change, you need to keep in mind a couple of things. This includes choosing your purpose, keeping your audience in mind & making it personally relevant to them, emphasizing the immediacy of the situation, incorporating humor and stories.

Before we delve into writing down the speech, let’s first understand what climate change actually means.

What is climate change?

In simple words, climate change is a global phenomenon of climate transformation. It is characterized by unusual changes in the normal climate of the planet and is especially caused by human activities.

As a result of climate change, there is a rapidly rising instability in the earth’s weather. This is detrimental to the earth’s ecosystem and the overall sustainability of the planet. Climate change also puts the future of all living things under threat–and yes, that includes you too.

The warning signs of climate change can be easily observed in our surroundings.

Temperatures are rising rapidly across the globe as a result of global warming. Glaciers are melting at a faster rate. There is a tremendous rise in sea levels, which puts multiple communities as well as marine life at risk. Droughts too are occurring more frequently–and lasting longer.

The warning signs of climate change are all around us. Whether we choose to see them or not, however, is something that depends solely on us.

Things To Keep In Mind While Writing The Speech

1. Choose Your Purpose

Like I mentioned before, so many people have given speeches on climate change before. If you wish to stand out from them, you first need to understand your exact purpose behind delivering the speech.

What I mean is, what do you mean to achieve from delivering the speech? Is your goal to simply provide information to people? Are you trying to convince people about the urgency of climate change? Or maybe you’re participating in a debate competition and want to beat your opponent’s point of view?

The content of your speech is going to be vastly different in all three scenarios. So, before you sit down writing, make sure you’ve decided on the purpose of your speech.

2. Analyzing The Audience

Once you’ve settled your purpose, let’s move onto the next step: analyzing your audience. This is because your content will need to vary depending on what people are going to be filling the auditorium seats.

For instance, if your audience mainly consists of primary school children, then you’re going to need to significantly tone down all the complex stuff in your speech. On the other hand, if your audience consists of experts in the field, then dawdling over the basics is going to be unnecessary.

So, make sure to analyze your audience before you sit down to write your speech.

3. Understand The Occasion

Where and when, exactly, are you going to be giving the speech? Are you going to deliver it as an opening speech at a college event? Are you going to be delivering the speech for a school project? Are you a speaker at a climate change conference?

The occasion plays a vital role in determining the contents of your speech. The overall tone of your speech as well as the type of content you might want to include–or exclude– will depend on how serious or leisurely an event is.

4. Emphasize The Immediacy

A lot of people tend to believe that climate change is something that’s probably going to affect the earth in…a couple of centuries, maybe.

But that is not so. Climate change is already affecting us–and if we do nothing about it, the situation will continue to worsen over the next couple of decades.

Emphasize the immediacy of the problem. It’s when people start realizing how imminent the issue is that they’ll want to do something about it.

5. Why Should They Listen To You?

Why should the audience listen to you? What makes you different than all the other speakers before you? What will make you stand out in their eyes?

Before you sit down and start writing, answer this question to yourself.

There are many ways to be unique in the audience’s eyes. Maybe you’re someone who’s excellent with jokes. Why not structure your speech in a funny way? Or maybe you’re a puppeteer, or simply excellent with haiku. Why not include them in your speech?

6. Timing Your Speech

How long are you going to be speaking for? An hour? Thirty minutes? One minute?

If you’ve already been given a time limit, good. If not, then you need to decide how long you’re going to be speaking before you start writing. This will help you better structure your speech, as well as ensure that you don’t need to cut short your speech on the big day because you’ve run out of time.

7. Making It Resonate With Humor & Stories

As long as you do not manage to make your speech resonate with people, they’re going to forget what you said, just like they’ve forgotten countless speeches before you. So, make sure to include elements like storytelling, humor & statistics in your speech.

Is there a personal incident where you were affected by climate change? Or maybe you saw or heard a story from somewhere else and it really touched you. Well, maybe it will touch your audience too.

Adding elements such as these will increase the impact you have on people, and make it more likely that they will remember you–and your speech-even after you’ve finished speaking.

Check out our article on Guide To Use Humor In Your Speech for some inspiration on how to make your speech more light-hearted and enjoyable.

We can also use the Paraprosdokian technique to make our speeches funny. It’s a simple technique which means narrating a story and having a surprise twist at the end. Want to know how some of our most beloved celebrities go about using this technique (and how you can too)? Check out this (entertaining) video we made:

8. How Does It Personally Impact The Audience?

Almost every person in the world is aware of the negative impact of climate change. And yet, only a few are actually concerned about it–or do something to prevent it.

This is mostly because people do not feel a personal need to do anything about climate change, because they feel like if they’ve not been impacted with climate change yet, then why should they bother paying attention to it?

And this is exactly what you need to change. You need to make them realize that climate change does, in fact, impact them directly. In fact, it probably already has in the past.

This can be done in many ways.

For example: Ask them about their summer, and tell them about rising temperatures in their own city. Ask them if they’ve been under the weather recently, and then tell them how there is a global rise in infectious disease as a consequence of climate change.

Structuring The Speech

The structure of a speech on climate change is pretty similar to any other speech that you might give. That is, it consists of three main parts…

1. The Opening

The opening of a speech is perhaps its most important component. Unless and until you grab your audience’s attention right off of the bat, chances are that you’ve lost it for the rest of your speech.

So, it’s imperative to have an excellent speech opening. There are many ways in which you can customize an attention-grabbing opening for a speech on climate change.

You could start off with a shocking statistic, for one. Or you could include beginning with a story. You could also start with a joke. Another great opening would be using a prop: maybe a model of what the earth will look like fifty years from now.

2. The Content

Your content is going to comprise the majority of your speech. It should include all of your most important points and those points must be lined up in a logical sequence.

Your content shouldn’t go on for seemingly forever. Keep it to the point, and discard anything that you feel you can do without.

If you’ve managed to grab the audience’s attention in the beginning, they’ll be intrigued enough to listen to your actual message.

However, presenting your main content in such a manner that it continues to sustain their interest is your responsibility.

To do so, make sure to incorporate elements like humor, stories, jokes, and games. Make sure you’re using proper body language and appropriate visuals and cues like photos, videos, etc  Mix things up and figure out what works best for you.

3. The Conclusion

Finally, you get to the conclusion. While it might sound like a good idea to quickly thank the audience and get off of the stage, it’s not so.

Your conclusion needs to be as impactful as your speech. This will ensure that your speech remains in the audience’s mind. It will also make it likely that they will want to hear you speak again.

There are many ways to conclude a speech. Having a call to action is a must. You can also end with an impactful quote. Or, you could circle back to something that you said in your speech–maybe finish a story you left off in the beginning.

4. Post-Conclusion

Wait, wait…So it’s not over after the conclusion? I mean, isn’t that the entire POINT of a conclusion? To CONCLUDE?

A conclusion wraps up your speech, sure. But if you truly want to make a lasting impact on your audience’s mind and actually make them take climate change–or any other topic–seriously, then what you do after your speech ends is just as important.

Think of it as an added bonus, like Marvel’s post-credits scenes.

There are many ways to go about having an awesome post-conclusion. Networking is a must. Now that you’re off the stage, it’s time to move around the room. Meet the people in the audience & talk to them. Ask them questions, and answer any they might have for you.

You can also make presentation handouts and give them to the audience. This will help them remember your speech. You could even give them a reference list so that they can look in-depth into your topic.

You could also give them a list of steps that they can take to reduce their own harmful impact on the environment. Or, you could even make a funny handout–maybe a couple of memorable lines from your speech–and give it to them.

Whatever you do, the end goal should be to make them remember you–and to actually do something about what you said.

Sample Climate Change Speech

The Sci-Fi Reality of Climate Change

Indonesia’s capital is sinking. Yes, you heard it right. In 2019, Indonesia announced its plans to shift its capital city from Jatarka, largely because the city is struggling to shoulder a giant environmental burden that keeps getting bigger and bigger every year. Air quality in the city has plunged to new lows–the air in the city is now reported to be even more polluted than cities like Delhi and Beijing. And of course, parts of Jatarka–which is home to over ten million people, almost the same as the city of Los Angeles–are sinking as much as 25 centimeters per year. Climate change is making Indonesia shift its capital. Imagine what will it do to your city or town. Because Indonesia is not the only city on the cusp of being ravaged by climate change. Extreme weather fueled by climate change struck every corner of the globe–from Africa to Australia to Asia–in 2020, leaving in its wake a devastating trail of floods, storms, fires and destruction. While for those of us who are sitting in the comfort of our own homes, climate change might feel like a distant dream, for many people, climate change has already ravaged their fragile reality. John Smith, a farmer from Nevada, is one of them. “It was like hell had shifted to earth.” The Smith family has been growing apples in the foothills of Nevada since the 1950s. However, a couple of weeks ago, a seemingly unstoppable camp fire engulfed the forest near their farm–as well as all the three buildings on their property. They managed to escape with their livestock and what little possessions they could gather. Their dog, Hero, suffered third-degree burns while saving their five-year-old daughter from a collapsing roof. The family had to spend the next twelve months in a trailer near their friends’ property. Three years later, and they’ve managed to patch together bits of their old life. And yet, the threat of another careless camper–and another devastating fire–still looms. In the United States, climate change has been a leading factor for a rapid increase in the frequency & extent of wildfires. Rising temperatures, which is a key component of climate change, is the culprit. Elevated temperatures seep out moisture from the ground and dry up the ground. This makes vegetation more flammable. The wildfire season now lasts approximately three and a half months longer. The number of wildfires in the West has tripled–as has the devastation it leaves in its wake. Today, it is John. Tomorrow, it could be you. In almost every sphere of life, change is inevitable. Students finish high school and enter universities, people switch jobs, or maybe someone moves to a new place… Change is a part of life. And like all other changes, climate change is inevitable–at least, until we actually do something to prevent it.  Out of all the planets in our Galaxy, Earth is–so far–the only planet with a climate capable enough to sustain human life. And yet, human beings seem to find it perfectly alright to take advantage of the Earth’s hospitality. I imagine earth to be like an exhausted host and humans those annoying guests that eat up all your food and destroy your brand new carpet with their muddy feet and just-can’t-take-a-hint and, you know, get out. We need to understand that what actions we choose are solely our responsibility, and we are the ones who will have to bear its consequences–many of which we already are. Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect are the most pressing issues in the current time. And yet secondary consequences of climate change, like the impact of rising temperatures on human lifespan as well as the economic impact of having to deal with secondary damage related to climate change, often go unnoticed. Because, you know, we’ve got more pressing issues to pay attention to. Like, Tiktok getting banned. And whether a metor is going to destroy the earth in the next decade (I’m sure the earth will thank it). Or, the flat earth theory. If Google is to be believed, the interest in both: Flat Earth Conspiracy Theory & Climate Change Skepticism is on the rise. In fact, they’re two of the most popular conspiracy theories today. And yet the interest in the impact of climate change–and what we can do to prevent it–has dwindled to a percentage so abysmal that I don’t find it worth mentioning. Today, we’re on the cusp of tipping into the Sci-Fi movies that everybody loves to binge with a platoon of Doritos packets. And yet, watching a Sci-Fi and actually living in one are two different things.  For one, there is no director or writer shaping the course of our lives behind the scenes. We cannot blame the writer for a plotline going south or a disappointing end–or even the entire show getting canceled. There is no plot requirement or artistic freedom, either. So, just because you’re the favorite of many people doesn’t mean your contract will renew after three seasons and you won’t get killed off.  Unlike directors and authors, nature does not discriminate. When a natural disaster strikes, it strikes everyone and not just a select few. The world has witnessed a tenfold increase in disasters since the 1960s–and unless everybody does something, this number will keep on increasing. And if you’d rather watch a Sci-Fi from the comfort of your home rather than actually living in one, you need to get up from the sofa, step out of your house and do something.  There is a quote from the movie ‘Interstellar’ that I really love. The movie is a Sci-Fi epic from the point of view of a family. Or, more precisely from the eyes of a father and daughter. The quote goes, “Once you’re a parent, you’re the ghost of your child’s future.”  And yet, right now it is you who holds your child’s future in your hands. So maybe in that sense all of us are writers, too: writers of which direction the story of our children’s life will take. Indonesia’s capital is sinking. As is the earth’s future. Now the choice is yours: would you rather let it sink, or will you throw it a life jacket instead?

PS: The above speech can be highlighted much better with the use of visuals and a few Slides. Keep that in mind if you are required to deliver this speech at anypoint.

Powerful Climate Change Speeches

1. leonardo dicaprio at the opening of climate summit 2014.

Key Takeaway: As you watch the speech, notice how Leonardo starts it off. He tries to make a personal connection with the people listening to him by telling the viewers that he’s not an expert on climate change. Instead, he’s just like them.

Throughout the course of his speech, he maintains this stance and uses quotes, anecdotes, etc. to emphasize his point. He makes himself–and his speech–easily relatable to the viewer.

2. Climate Change: Simple, Serious, Solvable By James Rae

Key Takeaway: As you watch the speech, notice how James makes use of visual elements like GIFs and pictures to capture his audience’s attention. The entire speech is peppered with material relevant to his topic, and this addition of visual elements takes the speech to a whole other level. You can use it as a guideline to how to use visuals in your own speech.

3. Confessions Of A Climate Change Humorist: Jim Poyser At TedXIndianapolis

Key Takeaway: As you watch the video, keep an eye on the speaker’s body language. Also, notice how the speaker uses humor to drive forth his point. Humor is a great way to make the audience relate to the topic–and you can make note of how the speaker effectively employs it in his speech to get an idea about how to structure it into your own talk.

To sum up, you can easily write a speech on climate change by keeping in mind factors like making sure you have a distinct purpose, keeping your audience in mind, timing your speech in advance, figuring out what makes you unique, and incorporating humor and storytelling. Additionally, you can skim through the sample speech provided as well as watch Ted Talks to gain an idea of how to write your own speech.

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Yale Climate Connections

How to talk about climate change: Ask questions

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What’s something that, as a climate-conscious individual, I may not already be doing that I should be (or shouldn’t be doing that I am doing)?

— Moe L. via Twitter

You’re probably not talking about it much. If my guess is correct — that is, you’re not having many conversations about climate change with friends, family, neighbors, and others in your community — my colleague Jennifer Marlon and I hope you’ll consider speaking up more often in the future.

To help you get started, she and I developed a strategy for talking about climate change in a way that will deepen your relationship with the people you care about.

Why it’s important to talk about climate change

But first, why do we want you to talk about it? We talk about what we care about.

What you choose to discuss with your friends and family helps them understand what is important to your community. “Talk” is the fertile field in which cultural change begins; in its absence, it’s impossible for a group of people to solve a problem.

And your words can have more of an effect than you might think.

A few months ago, I heard Marlon talking about “electrifying everything” — the idea that appliances and vehicles that run on fossil fuels ought to be replaced with their electric-powered counterparts, which have the capacity to run on low-carbon electricity.

Around the same time, a natural-gas-fueled HVAC unit died at my house. I decided to replace it with an all-electric heat pump , even though salesmen from two different HVAC companies tried to talk me out of it.

I’m not an HVAC expert, so it was unnerving to listen to sales reps steering me away from making the climate-friendly choice. But I also knew that a respected person in my professional community, Marlon, wouldn’t think getting a heat pump was weird. That helped me to muster my courage, ignore the salesmen, and insist on the heat pump. In other words, a casual conversation helped me to make a decision that will prevent the release of tens of thousands of pounds of carbon pollution during the next 10 years.

Researchers have documented similar social influences on other consumer choices. When our peers purchase hybrid vehicles or put solar panels on their roofs , we become more likely to follow suit.

So talk is powerful — but when it comes to climate change, a surprising number of people aren’t speaking up.

Obstacles to starting conversations about climate change

More Americans than ever are alarmed about climate change , but those of us who are worrying about the problem tend to do so quietly. In fact, two in three Americans say they “rarely” or “never” discuss global warming with friends and family, according to a nationally representative survey conducted in March 2021.

Why don’t more people talk about it? At least a couple of reasons: Global warming is a huge bummer, so maybe it doesn’t feel right to bring it up at mom’s birthday dinner or your best friend’s baby shower.

Many people are also concerned that bringing up the topic will trigger ridicule or even hostility from a person who denies the reality of climate change. Few people would prefer hearing an explosive, fact-free Thanksgiving Day rant from Uncle Rude when they could just enjoy their turkey and mashed potatoes in peace.

But if those of us who care about this issue aren’t willing to risk raising the subject, how do we expect things to change? The good news is, more Americans than you might think are coming around to the reality of climate change. As the chart below shows, when survey respondents are asked to guess the percentage of Americans who believe global warming is happening, they usually underestimate the true number.

The reality: 76% of American adults (93% of Democrats, 58% of Republicans, and 74% of Independents) believe that global warming is happening. That means you’re likely to find plenty of people in your community who are willing to participate in friendly conversations about the problem.

Tips for starting conversations about climate change

Getting started doesn’t have to be awkward. Think about the people in your life who are most likely to care about the problem. For this exercise, your goal is to identify other people who are concerned about global warming — not to argue with those who deny the reality of climate change. You won’t need to prepare a speech or memorize a bunch of facts about climate science.

Instead, think of the conversations as information-gathering missions, with carefully listening as your most important task. You’ll be asking your friends and family questions, probing them for advice and insights from their own experiences, something most people love talking about.

To prepare for those conversations, spend time thinking about what you would most like to learn about from those around you. Grab a piece of paper and draw lines to divide it into three columns.

In the first column, write down any actions you’ve already taken (or are in the process of taking) to conserve energy and resources, pollute less, or contribute to policy change. The items can be anything big or small: switching to LED lightbulbs, helping your kids connect with nature, contacting an elected representative about climate change, and so on.

In the second column, write down actions you haven’t taken yet but would be willing to do. Maybe you’ve been wanting to eat more plant-based meals or volunteer with an environmental group but haven’t yet changed your shopping habits or found the right group. Here’s a great list of other pro-climate actions you could consider.

Finally, use the third column to write down anything you’re not willing to do. Maybe you travel a lot for work and have no way to avoid it. That’s OK. Sometimes the system has to change before individuals can access sustainable options.

Now review your columns. Congratulate yourself on any items you’ve listed in column one. Then turn to column two. The items on this list are the fodder for your conversations with your friends and family.

For example, if you’ve been wanting to add more meatless meals to your diet, you can ask your friends who are great cooks for their favorite meat-free dishes. Or if you’re voting in an election, you might ask your friends if they want to go with you and make it a social event.

In this way, you will be building a network of trusted people who you can turn to for support and answers.

As people in your network are offering advice, make sure to listen first. Eventually, you’ll likely have an opportunity to explain why you’re interested in eating less meat, voting more regularly, or the like. When the moment is right, you might find them turning back to you when they find themselves in a similar position. And engaging in these conversations will help set a norm in your social group that it’s worth doing something about the climate.

As you get more comfortable talking about climate change, you can also revisit the list in column three. Do you see anything that you’d consider moving to column two if you had support from someone else? For example, you might feel intimidated by the idea of calling an elected official to express your views on climate change. But what if your politically minded children filled you in on their experiences making those calls and offered you some tips? Would that change anything?

After you’ve taken action, talk about it. You thought your friend’s veggie taco recipe was delicious, so tell her. You and your friends voted for the mayoral candidate who supports public transit — and she actually won. Brag about it. You installed an all-electric heat pump? Show it off to everyone who visits your home. And then keep asking questions — and talking. By itself, talk won’t save the climate. But it’s a good place to start.

 — Sara and Jenn

P.S. Thanks to our colleagues at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication who participated in a brainstorm that informed this column.

Jennifer R. Marlon, Ph.D., is a research scientist at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, publisher of this site and one of the organizations that led the surveys cited above.

Tom Toro  is a cartoonist and writer who has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010.

Got a question about climate change? Send it to  [email protected] . Questions may be edited for length and clarity.

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Speaking of Climate Change

Climate change is the greatest public health crisis we face, with global implications for tackling disease, food, safety, and security. When it comes to cultivating consensus and adoption of the best solutions, communication is key—and the messenger matters most. Have you ever heard the phrase “Your vibe attracts your tribe”? We often surround ourselves with people of similar beliefs, whether intentionally or not. Wilbur Schramm, one of the original academics in communication theory, suggested that individuals are more likely to receive information if they share the same field of experience, beliefs, values, and learned meanings as the sender of information. The implication is that fruitful conversations on climate change are more likely to result from conversations between members of the same “tribe”—individuals with similar beliefs, shared experiences, or kindred values.

C-Change Conversations, which was launched by an all-volunteer group in 2014 (and is unrelated to the Harvard Chan School’s center with a similar acronym), embodies these principles. Their mission is to discuss climate change with moderate and conservative audiences by meeting them where they are. It’s an approach that is yielding results across the country, and I hope you can learn from their experiences and adapt them to your personal and professional work.

—Gina McCarthy Professor of the Practice of Public Health; Director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE); Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

By Kathleen Biggins and Katy Kinsolving

The tall gray-haired man spoke politely but firmly, his frustration obvious. “I don’t buy into the fact that man is causing climate change , and I certainly reject big-government policies that pick winners and losers in the energy markets.” Next to him, a younger man chimed in, “Even if it’s real, we can’t hurt our economy with more regulations when China and India are getting a free ride.” The young man’s wife added, “I’m in finance, and I know you can’t trust models, especially ones that project far in the future. Why should I trust climate models?”

The tension in the audience was palpable. How would the speaker, who was there to outline the risks of climate change, respond to these challenges?

This scenario plays out often as our group, C-Change Conversations, travels the country speaking to moderates and conservatives about the risks of climate change. On this night, we were addressing a group at a private club, but it could just as easily have been in a church basement, a theater, the community room of a public library, or even in a private home. Often, the audience is guarded; people may feel personally attacked when someone says climate change is real. Our objective is to neutralize that emotional response and help audience members evaluate climate change risk in a different way.

Tribal Communication

Social psychologists such as Jonathan Haidt have documented that much of our decision making takes place based on instinct, influenced by those we consider to be members of our “tribe,” and that our intellect is used to confirm that choice. This means that on an issue such as climate change, facts alone are not persuasive. The top predictor of one’s opinion on climate change is political party affiliation: Individual positions on the issue are often a litmus test of whether someone is a “good conservative” or a “good liberal.”

Our organization, C-Change Conversations, has been able to work with the seemingly inflexible target of political moderates and conservatives to discuss how they evaluate climate-change-related risk. We reach people with climate change information through their nonpolitical “tribes”—associations like garden clubs, business clubs, investment clubs, and country clubs. By meeting with those who are skeptical, in a place where they are comfortable and surrounded by people they consider to be peers and friends, we find they are more willing to listen. We often speak at regularly scheduled meetings, so that audience members do not have to consciously decide to come hear our message. This means they don’t feel disloyal to their tribe, uncomfortable, or that they are wasting their time.

We try to establish a personal connection with each group’s leadership. Our team members are usually similar to our audiences—perhaps they have lived or attended schools in their area, had similar career paths, or have been members of a similar association. We are introduced by someone within the audience’s group who has heard us before. This gives us an endorsement from a member of the “tribe,” someone whom our audiences know and trust. When people learn that we do not have a political agenda and that we are volunteers traveling the country solely because we are concerned and want to share this message, they are even more receptive to listening.

Leveraging Conservative Values

Our presentation begins with three facts everyone can agree on: that the climate has always been changing due to natural causes, that fossil fuels have helped us create vibrant economies and have improved our quality of life, and that climate change is a difficult question to discuss. We do not frame climate change as an environmental issue. Instead, we talk about how it will negatively impact our economy and jobs, our personal security and health, and our exposure to geopolitical instability. We use humor and a friendly, nonlecturing tone, and we provide scientific information from credible sources such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

While our presentation is grounded in science, we translate it into layman’s terms. For example, we explain that fossil fuels are made from carbon that fell to the surface of the earth millions of years ago, got sequestered over the ensuing period, and that humankind’s actions are reintroducing that carbon into the atmosphere at a rate that does not happen in nature.

We also note that many politically and culturally conservative institutions, such as the military, national intelligence agencies, and large corporations, are identifying the risks associated with climate change. We add that a moderate and conservative stance is not necessarily at odds with government action on climate change. Indeed, several lions of the Republican Party—including former Secretary of State George Shultz, and former Secretaries of the Treasury James Baker III and Henry M. Paulson—have been outspoken proponents of policies such as placing a fee on carbon, arguing that such policies follow conservative free-market principles. Recently, Lamar Alexander, the Republican senior senator from Tennessee, proposed a new “Manhattan Project” that focuses on investing in research to create advanced computing and breakthroughs in nuclear, natural gas, carbon capture, better batteries, greener buildings, electric vehicles, and solar power.

Most important, we are scrupulously nonpartisan. We highlight the fact that economic and political realities have historically precluded both major parties from taking steps to mitigate climate change risks, and that many different effective policy approaches, including those that fit within a conservative agenda, could be implemented today.

Inspired by Personal Change

Our approach is grounded in our own personal experience. We are moderates and conservatives ourselves, and our minds were opened when we attended a national affairs and legislation conference on conservation in 2013 organized by the Garden Club of America. We heard business leaders, scientists, and a rear admiral of the United States Navy describe how climate change was a significant and urgent threat to all Americans because of its impact on our economy, health, and national security. We listened in part because they were such credible experts and were presented by an organization that we trusted and respected.

Our founder, Kathleen Biggins, spent the next year educating herself on the issue. She recognized that many of her conservative and moderate peers did not believe the risk was real or significant. She wondered if it was possible to mirror the experience that had changed her own mind at the conference and decided to create a salon-style lecture series of experts that would be credible to those two groups. She felt that hosting the events in private homes would help attendees feel welcome and comfortable.

Kathleen asked three others who had attended the national gardening conference to join her. Those three were Pam Mount, the former mayor of Lawrence, New Jersey, who has deep experience in public-private partnerships; Katy Kinsolving, a former nonprofit management consultant with public relations experience; and Carrie Dyckman, a former producer of educational and electronic media. Together, we launched C-Change Conversations in 2014 in our home community of Princeton, New Jersey.

Since then, C-Change Conversations has hosted 17 lectures, featuring scientists such as Arctic specialist Max Holmes of the Woods Hole Research Center; financiers such as Bob Litterman, former manager of risk at Goldman Sachs; public policy experts including Christine Todd Whitman, former Republican governor of New Jersey and former Environmental Protection Agency administrator; David Crane, former chief executive officer of NRG Energy; and Peter Hoeppe, former head of Geo Risk Research at the Global Climate Forum and a climate expert for the world’s leading reinsurance company, Munich Re.

A Primer on Climate Change

The speaker series raised climate change awareness among business and community leaders in Princeton. It also positioned C-Change Conversations as a credible voice in climate change communication. However, we realized that many in the audience lacked an understanding of the science underpinning climate change and therefore did not recognize the urgency of the issue. We could tell from their questions and comments that they viewed the issue as an intellectual one, rather than one that would directly impact their own well-being. Without an accessible overview of the science and economics, it was difficult for them to appreciate the scope, complexity, and short-term implications of the problem.

For instance, many did not understand that greenhouse gases make up a tiny portion—less than 1 percent—of our atmosphere, yet play an outsized role in stabilizing the temperature that has enabled humans to thrive over the last 10,000 years. It was hard for them to appreciate how human activities that release additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere could have such a profound effect on temperature, precipitation, and agriculture. In addition, we provided historical perspectives to help our listeners understand why the current speed of change in weather trends, which is unprecedented in past cycles of nature, exacerbates the dangers of a warmer planet.

Our team held focus groups with their peers to understand what information they would find helpful. Kathleen, who has a background in journalism and advertising, worked with climate scientists and energy policy experts to develop the C-Change Conversations “Primer,” a 50-minute presentation designed to answer questions that moderates and conservatives—who are often concerned that the risks are hyped and that any action to combat climate change will harm our economy—might have on the issue.

After presenting the Primer locally, C-Change Conversations was asked to open the Garden Club of America’s same national conservation conference that had started them on their journey. From there, delegates who heard the presentation invited them to their communities around the country. Two years after the group’s formation, C-Change Conversations has been asked to present to a wide range of organizations in 26 states, including Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Fighting the “Spiral of Silence”

Our goal is to reach as many people as we can with the overarching message that climate change is a critical issue in species survival, environmental conservation, global migration, and human well-being in general—and one that we need to join together to address. Social scientists say there is a “spiral of silence” around this issue, that most Americans do not discuss it on a regular basis. This silence enables policymakers—who are elected to fix issues of immediate concern, not become embroiled in complex and difficult long-term problems—to leave climate change action for others.

The public health arena is an important forum for us. We have learned from past presentations to health care professionals that many do not understand how climate change will impact them personally, nor how it could affect their patients. Many have not focused on how the trend undermines health in general—for example, how climate change leads to heavier precipitation, which compromises water supply and can isolate or close hospitals and medical facilities. Climate change also raises the risk and severity of natural disasters. Dangerous heat waves increase mortality and put pressure on agriculture, diminishing the quantity and quality of our food supply.

Opening Ears, Hearts, and Minds

We continue this effort because we see and hear that we are making a difference. At almost every presentation we deliver, we are asked to go to another community to deliver the Primer. This strong word-of-mouth reception suggests to us that our approach is working. Again and again, audience members have thanked us for our apolitical, calm, moderate tone. This type of reception underscores that people are willing to change their minds if approached in a respectful, nonpartisan way.

Recently, we received a standing ovation from a conservative crowd in Columbia, South Carolina. In Nantucket, Massachusetts, we were approached by an attendee who said, “You’ve opened my ears, my heart, and my mind.”

Survey results and testimonials from attendees show that many of them now feel more comfortable talking about climate change because it seems “less taboo.” They say they feel “empowered” because they understand the basic science of why climate change is unfolding. We believe there are many ways for an individual to help address climate change, and we offer a few suggestions to audiences at the end of the presentation—from managing their personal carbon footprint to supporting organizations that are working in this arena. Because we are a 501(c)(3) organization, we do not engage in lobbying efforts. We do encourage everyone who comes to our presentations to vote—no matter on which side of the aisle they sit—and we encourage them to contact their legislators at the local, state, and federal level to let them know that addressing climate change is important.

The scale of the response necessary to blunt the worst of climate change mandates that we as a society come together, just as we did in the race to the moon and our victory in World War II. But we cannot join forces without consensus that the problem is real and urgent. In our focused efforts with moderates and conservatives, we are trying to do our part in laying the groundwork for action.

As an audience member in Louisiana wrote to us: “Thank you for presenting the facts that get to the core of the matter. I for one will not sit around waiting for the ice caps to melt … you have inspired me to take action and sound the alarm in the name of all mankind.”

Kathleen Biggins and Katy Kinsolving are the co-founders of C-Change Conversations.

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10 videos to watch to discuss climate change with students

By Lauren McAlpine on February 1, 2021 in News + Updates , TED-Ed Innovative Educators

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TED-Ed Innovative Educator , Kim Preshoff, based in Williamsville, NY, has been an environmental teacher for over 30 years.

Here, Preshoff shares a list of TED-Ed Lessons and TED Talks to watch and discuss with students.

As an environmental educator for more than 30 years, I have had the unique perspective of watching the climate change issue evolve over time and see first-hand students that care about what is happening. They care about future generations and they want change. So, how can we help them? Climate change can be a daunting and sometimes scary topic to discuss. My consistent response: “Knowledge is power!” Only by providing students with the science of climate change, and perspectives about what is truly happening in areas across the world, can we empower them to make a difference. Climate change must become a daily topic of discussion in classrooms across the globe, and part of everyday conversations.

TED has created several unique and informative lessons on climate change that will provide students, educators, and parents with the science and background necessary to understand the true impact of this issue. I consider these five animations my must-watch list:

Climate change: Earth’s giant game of Tetris  - Joss Fong

Using the game Tetris as a comparison, this video is a terrific introduction to the carbon cycle, what can cause an imbalance in that cycle, and how that imbalance is affecting Earth’s climate. Can you define the greenhouse effect? You will after this lesson! It also covers the creation of fossil fuels, how they cause today’s imbalance in the carbon cycle, and the effect deforestation has on the carbon budget. This lesson is a fun and unique way to present the difficult topic of the carbon cycle.

Is the weather actually becoming more extreme? – R. Saravanan

Knowing the difference between weather and climate is a key point in the discussion of climate change issues.  Extreme weather events such as heat waves, wildfires and tropical cyclones have been increasing over the last 40 years. Could climate change be the culprit? Earth’s average temperature has increased nearly 1 degree C over the last 150 years– the end result is more energy in Earth’s atmosphere, and in turn more extreme weather events. Questions about climate versus weather? This lesson will clarify the differences.

Why the Arctic is climate change’s canary in the coal mine  - William Chapman

How can the Arctic be used as a predictor of climate change? The Arctic region is kept in balance with feedback loops– both positive and negative.  Positive loops amplify effects while negative loops stabilize effects. Studying these feedback loops in relation to cloud cover, melting sea ice, and reflectivity can help scientists predict the effects of climate change. The Arctic is the most often talked about region in regard to climate change– this lesson will provide the background information needed to understand why.

Underwater farms vs. Climate change – Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Megan Davis

What exactly is aquaculture? Can aquaculture help fight climate change? Is there a sustainable way to farm the ocean? Aquaculture, while providing food for people, can have some negative repercussions. The answer: restorative ocean farming. A sustainable underwater farm can feed people a more healthy diet, provide jobs, and, at the same time, sequester carbon from the atmosphere. When students are looking for potential solutions to climate change– use this lesson as an example.

Can wildlife adapt to climate change? – Erin Eastwood

How resilient is nature in adapting to climate change? Scientists have seen changes in organisms, but many of these changes are not heritable. Approximately 20 different species have evolved adaptations to climate change. While this might seem like good news, humans will have to play a role in maintaining biodiversity, and helping species to continue to thrive in this changing environment. This lesson may provide a bit of hope about animals versus climate change.

In addition to these lessons, TED’s new initiative COUNTDOWN , has amplified TED Talks that provide great perspectives on issues around the world that people are facing everyday. Remember, with climate change problems, there are also climate change solutions. Through learning new perspectives, we can truly understand what other communities are going through and make changes that positively impact every person on this planet. Here are the TED Talks on my must-watch list:

10 years to transform the future of humanity or destabilize the planet  - Johan Rockstrom

Has the Earth reached its climate change tipping point that could potentially make earth uninhabitable for future generations? Evidence is pointing to yes; we have begun to potentially destabilize Earth as we know it, yet we have failed to mitigate climate change. Rising sea levels, permafrost belching methane, and interwoven systems may be the downfall of Earth’s stability. Want solutions? Stewardship, science, a view of Earth as a global commons, and a willingness to change. This TED Talk will provide you with a solid foundation about what is happening in regard to climate change.

Cities are driving climate change.  Here’s how they can fix it  - Angel Hsu

Urban areas contain the majority of people on Earth, and these cities have a great impact on climate change. They can decrease our carbon footprint or they can be urban heat islands. One solution is equity in greenspace for all residents of all economic levels and races. This talk provides perspective about the unique issues encountered by people living in large urban areas, and ways they can mitigate the effects of climate change.

Climate justice cannot happen without racial justice  - David Lammy

When struggling with racial injustices, climate change gets put on the back-burner. But racial and climate injustices must be addressed together. Who is most likely to breathe in polluted air, live in an area suffering from extreme heat, or have homes surrounded by fewer trees? People of color who make up a greater percentage of our low economic communities. Often, individuals and countries that are most vulnerable to climate change are  those who contribute the least to the issue. Only by bringing all stakeholders to the climate change discussion can this truly be remedied. Watch this talk and gain perspective about the need to involve every citizen in the climate change discussion.

The city planting a million trees in two years  - Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

How can deforestation affect a community? Lack of trees can cause landslides, flooding, and loss of biodiversity. Aki-Sawyerr’s goal is not to just plant trees, but to grow a tree steward program. The end result is a city that is collectively proud to protect itself and its homes as trees are planted in yards, schools, offices, and public spaces. While it may not be the complete answer to climate change, these trees provide a much needed carbon sink for her city. This TED Talk is proof that taking action can truly make a difference.

How to be a good ancestor  - Roman Krznaric

We as humans are destroying the environmental inheritance of future generations- those with no voices about what is occurring. We need to become good ancestors, but how? Be a time rebel, extend your vision– look forward to the future, and keep our future Earth inhabitants in mind when planning out goals. Ask kids who to vote for and discuss the future with them. Focus on and learn from nature, regenerate the Earth, and take care of the place that will take care of our offspring. This TED Talk emphasizes the importance of looking forward for the sake of future generations.

Interested in learning more about climate change? Here are some additional resources and platforms:

TED-Ed’s Earth School , a 30-day journey of daily Quests using videos, resources, and activities compiled by Earth experts for students to learn more about the environment and climate change

The  Count Us In  project, which has 16 actionable steps you can take on your own, with your family, friends or school

United Nations Environment Program

NASA: Global Climate Change

NPR: Resources on Climate change

NOAA Climate

News from the Columbia Climate School

You Asked: What’s the Best Way To Talk About Climate Change?

This story was published as part of our Climate Week NYC coverage. Learn more about Climate Week, read our other stories , and check out our upcoming events .

More Americans today are worried about climate change than ever before. From 2014 to 2020, the proportion of people who said they felt “alarmed” by global warming nearly tripled, according to research from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. But while public awareness for climate change is at an all-time high, dinner tables and debate stages can still feel boobytrapped with uncomfortable conversations. As part of State of the Planet’s “You Asked” series, Columbia scientists, journalists, and content creators spoke to why that is and how, through thoughtful climate communication, it doesn’t have to be.

The Evolution of Climate Communication

Climate scientist and Columbia Climate School professor Kate Marvel remembers when the main story about climate change had to do with whether or not it existed. Experts not unlike herself were pitted against skeptics on live television with little time for well-meaning discussion. The relatively few stories that did uplift climate science focused on what was happening in the natural world; for mainstream publications—and the majority of their readers—that meant climate change was synonymous with polar bears trapped on melting icebergs or rainforests burning in the Amazon.

Andrew Revkin was an environmental reporter with The New York Times for over 15 years before joining the Earth Institute as the director of the Initiative on Communication and Sustainability. He said the “newsroom norm” of  prioritizing what had happened that day made it difficult for issues with incremental developments and long-term time horizons to get top billing. It is only in the last handful of years, he noted, that climate change has begun to “infuse itself into other coverage,” with reporters writing about its impact on other pressing social issues such as public health and racial justice.

At the same time, climate solutions have become more visible and scalable, resulting in coverage that considershow the crisis can be mitigated, rather than just its consequences. Sabine Marx, former managing director of Columbia’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, said this shift has offered a psychological advantage in how the threat of climate change is communicated. “If I know there are steps that I can take towards actionable solutions, then I am much more likely to accept that there’s a problem,” she explained.

Climate communication has also been supported by the proliferation of new forms of media.  Sustainable Development student Lauren Ritchie , for example, founded the online platform The EcoJustice Project to make climate education and action more accessible to her generation.

“Gen Z is eager to learn and trying to get involved,” said Ritchie. “Most of the time, I’m making content based on what I would want to consume.”

Through social media features like Instagram Live, Ritchie provides her tens of thousands of followers with the opportunity to hear firsthand from people experiencing and responding to climate change in their communities.

How To Talk About Climate Change

Whether it is in person, in print, or online, climate communication often begins where it ends—with the audience. Marx explained that the experiences and values of a person inherently shape the way that they choose to engage with climate change, if at all. As a result, what resonates with a financial investor in New England might not be what resonates with a farmer in the Southeast.

“Knowing your audience will allow you to get beyond the information deficit so that you can look at filling a motivation deficit,” said Marx.

With no shortage of prospective audiences, climate communicators are constantly adapting the way that they frame the issue, a process that Marvel has found to be really empowering. “I don’t like feeling like a robot,” she said. “I think if you decide that there’s only one way to communicate about this, and you have to say the same thing over and over, then you’re going to burn out really quickly.”

Journalist Brian Kahn will use any combination of analogies, examples, and recent climate events in his work to connect with his readers—including the ones who send him hate mail. “As long as they’re not threatening my life, I’ll usually respond,” he said. “There’s a surprising amount of common ground between folks where you might not expect it.”

While finding common ground does not always equate to changing someone’s mind, Marvel noted that it is often the “human conversations without ulterior motives” that are the most productive. “When I talk about climate change, I want other people to understand this thing that’s really important to me,” she said, “and I want to learn from other people.”

It is a strategy that Marx refers to as “leading to ” climate change, rather than “leading with ” climate change. By starting with what is relatable—raising kids, owning a home, enjoying long walks on the beach—the impacts of climate change can be tethered to the shared reality of what is at stake. “We want to open the door with something that is meaningful to people, something that they care about,” she said.

The Future of Climate Communication

Given that climate communication has changed so much in the last two decades, it can be difficult to predict what will come next for the field as a whole. For Revkin, the future of climate communication will involve convening more stakeholders for in-depth conversations rather than writing for traditional media outlets.

“Climate and sustainability communication is different from telling another good story,” he said. “It’s getting brains into a place and having them think about something they might not otherwise, to collaborate on something that they can do more effectively together than alone.”

Through his “Sustain What?” webcast series, Revkin has already hosted a wide variety of experts to discuss issues ranging from global ecological restoration to the future of nuclear energy . In the last year and a half, he has recorded over 220 episodes that have engaged an estimated one million listeners.

The creation of new shared spaces like the “Sustain What?” webcast series can also function to champion greater diversity in climate discourse—something that Ritchie, Marvel, and Kahn stressed is desperately needed moving forward. “There is so much nuance to climate change,” said Ritchie, “and yet we tend to look at it through this privileged, white lens.”

Marvel agreed. “It’s an existential problem if climate communication is a monolith,” she said. “No one person or group of people is going to be able to talk to all communities, so we need to uplift diverse voices.”

Perhaps then the most important part of climate communication is that it keeps happening in more places with more people, especially in the face of what Kahn referred to as an “epidemic of climate silence” in the United States and around the world.

“People should not be afraid to talk about this stuff,” he said. “Having these conversations—even if they feel hard—is the first step to actually acting, passing climate policy, and getting this work done.”

Watch Elise Gout chat with Andy Revkin, Director of Columbia Climate School’s Initiative on Communication and Sustainability and host of the “Sustain What?” webcast series, on how to talk about climate change. 

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Climate Action: It’s time to make peace with nature, UN chief urges

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The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has described the fight against the climate crisis as the top priority for the 21st Century, in a passionate, uncompromising speech delivered on Wednesday at Columbia University in New York.

The landmark address marks the beginning of a month of UN-led climate action, which includes the release of major reports on the global climate and fossil fuel production, culminating in a climate summit on 12 December, the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Nature always strikes back

Mr. Guterres began with a litany of the many ways in which nature is reacting, with “growing force and fury”, to humanity’s mishandling of the environment, which has seen a collapse in biodiversity, spreading deserts, and oceans reaching record temperatures.

The link between COVID-19 and man-made climate change was also made plain by the UN chief, who noted that the continued encroachment of people and livestock into animal habitats, risks exposing us to more deadly diseases.

And, whilst the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic has temporarily slowed emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, levels of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane are still rising, with the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere at a record high. Despite this worrying trend, fossil fuel production – responsible for a significant proportion of greenhouse gases – is predicted to continue on an upward path.

‘Time to flick the green switch’

The appropriate global response, said the Secretary-General, is a transformation of the world economy, flicking the “green switch” and building a sustainable system driven by renewable energy, green jobs and a resilient future.

One way to achieve this vision, is by achieving net zero emissions (read our feature story on net zero for a full explanation, and why it is so important). There are encouraging signs on this front, with several developed countries, including the UK, Japan and China, committing to the goal over the next few decades.

Mr. Guterres called on all countries, cities and businesses to target 2050 as the date by which they achieve carbon neutrality – to at least halt national increases in emissions - and for all individuals to do their part.

With the cost of renewable energy continuing to fall, this transition makes economic sense, and will lead to a net creation of 18 million jobs over the next 10 years. Nevertheless, the UN chief pointed out, the G20, the world’s largest economies, are planning to spend 50 per cent more on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.

Put a price on carbon

For years, many climate experts and activists have called for the cost of carbon-based pollution to be factored into the price of fossil fuels, a step that Mr. Guterres said would provide certainty and confidence for the private and financial sectors.

Companies, he declared, need to adjust their business models, ensuring that finance is directed to the green economy, and pension funds, which manage some $32 trillion in assets, need to step and invest in carbon-free portfolios.

Far more money, continued the Secretary-General, needs to be invested in adapting to the changing climate, which is hindering the UN’s work on disaster risk reduction. The international community, he said, has “both a moral imperative and a clear economic case, for supporting developing countries to adapt and build resilience to current and future climate impacts”.

Everything is interlinked

The COVID-19 pandemic put paid to many plans, including the UN’s ambitious plan to make 2020 the “super year” for buttressing the natural world. That ambition has now been shifted to 2021, and will involve a number of major climate-related international commitments.

These include the development of a plan to halt the biodiversity crisis; an Oceans Conference to protect marine environments; a global sustainable transport conference; and the first Food Systems Summit, aimed at transforming global food production and consumption.

Mr. Guterres ended his speech on a note of hope, amid the prospect of a new, more sustainable world in which mindsets are shifting, to take into account the importance of reducing each individual’s carbon footprint.

Far from looking to return to “normal”, a world of inequality, injustice and “heedless dominion over the Earth”, the next step, said the Secretary-General, should be towards a safer, more sustainable and equitable path, and for mankind to rethink our relationship with the natural world – and with each other.

You can read the full speech here .

Our planet is in a state of climate emergency.But I also see hope.There is momentum toward carbon neutrality. Many cities are becoming greener. The circular economy is reducing waste. Environmental laws have growing reach. And many people are taking #ClimateAction. pic.twitter.com/dDAHH279Er António Guterres, UN Secretary-General antonioguterres December 2, 2020

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• Climate Change Speech/Global Warming Speech

Download Long and Short Climate Change Speech Essay in English Free PDF from Vedantu

Earth is the only planet which has variety in weather and climate crucial for survival.  But we humans are killing nature to fulfil our need and greed that causes global warming, eventually leading to climate change. Here, we have provided both long and short Climate Change speech or Global Warming speech along with 10 lines for a brief speech on Global Warming. Students can refer to this article whenever they are supposed to write a speech on Global Warming. 

Long Global Warming Speech

Global Warming refers to the Earth's warming, i.e. rise in the Earth's surface temperature. A variety of human activities, such as industrial pollution and the burning of fossil fuels, are responsible for this temperature rise. These operations emit gases that cause the greenhouse effect and, subsequently, global warming. Climate change, starvation, droughts, depletion of biodiversity, etc. are some of the most important consequences of global warming.

The average surface temperature of the planet has risen by around 0.8 ° Celsius since 1880. The rate of warming per decade has been around 0.15 °-0.2 ° Celsius. This is a worldwide shift in the temperature of the planet and should not be confused with the local changes we witness every day, day and night, summer and winter, etc.

There can be several causes for Global Warming, the GreenHouse Effect is believed to be the primary and major cause. This impact is caused primarily by gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbon, nitrous oxides, etc. In the atmosphere around the Earth, these gases form a cover from which the Sun's hot rays can penetrate the Earth but can not leave. So, in the lower circle of the Earth, the heat of the Sun persists, allowing the temperature to increase.

This is not something new, it is not something we weren’t aware of before. Since childhood, each one of us present here has been made to write a speech on Global Warming in their school/college, at least once. We have been made aware of the disastrous effects through movies, articles, competitions, posters, etc. But what have we done? Recently, the Greta Thunberg's Climate Change speech was making headlines. Greta Thunberg is a 16-year-old teenager who got the chance to speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit. Although, most of us were quick to term Greta Thunberg Climate Change speech as ‘Scathing’ but very few could point out the need for such a brutal reminder. Remember? “We have been made to write a speech on Global Warming since our school days and nothing changed”. Maybe a searing reminder would bring a change and yes, it sure did.

Now, we have the titanic fame, Leonardo DiCaprio, speaking up about climate change in his Oscar speech as well as at the UN. However, Leonardo Dicaprio's Climate Change speech makes us aware of the fact that this has grown beyond individual choices. If we have to fight climate change, industries and corporations have to take decisive large-scale action.

I would like to end my speech by saying that only spreading awareness isn't the answer. It's time to act, as actions yield results.

Short Speech on Global Warming

Today, I am here to deliver a short speech on Global Warming. We all are well aware of Global Warming and how it results in Climate Change. Owing to global warming, there have been cases of severe drought. Regions, where there used to be a lot of rainfall, are seeing less rainfall. The monsoon trend has shifted around the globe. Global warming also causes ice to melt and the level of the ocean to rise, resulting in floods.

Various species are also widely impacted by global warming. Some land organisms are very vulnerable to changes in temperature and environment and can not tolerate extreme conditions. Koalas, for example, are at risk of famine because of climate change. Several fish and tortoise species are susceptible to changes in ocean temperatures and die.

One of the biggest threats to global security is climate change. Climate change knows no borders and poses us all with an existential threat. A significant security consequence of climate change is a rise in the frequency of severe weather events, especially floods and storms. This has an effect on city and town facilities, access to drinking water, and other services to sustain everyday life. It also displaces the population and since 2008, disasters caused by natural hazards have displaced an average of 26.4 million people annually from their homes. 85% of these are weather-related. This is equal to every second of approximately one person displaced.

It is important that we finally stop debating about it. Schools need to stop making students write a speech on Global Warming or Climate Change and focus on making them capable of living a sustainable life. Face it with courage and honesty. 

10 Lines for Brief Speech on Global Warming

Here, we have provided 10 key pointers for Climate Change Speech for Students.

Global warming refers to the above-average temperature increase on Earth.

The primary cause of global warming is the Greenhouse effect.

Climate change is blamed for global warming, as it badly affects the environment.

The most critical and very important issue that no one can overlook is climate change; it is also spreading its leg in India.

India's average temperature has risen to 1.1 degrees Celsius in recent years.

Living creatures come out of their natural environment due to global warming, and eventually become extinct.

Climate change has contributed to weather pattern disruptions across the globe and has led to unusual shifts in the monsoon.

Human actions, apart from natural forces, have also led to this transition. Global warming leads to drastic climate change, leading to flooding, droughts and other climate catastrophes.

The pattern of monsoon winds is influenced by changes in global temperature and alters the time and intensity of rain. Unpredictable climate change impacts the nation's farming and production.

Planting more trees can be a positive step in eliminating the global warming problem.

What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to alterations in Earth's climate, it has been happening since the planet was formed. The Climate is always changing. There are different factors that could contribute to Climate Change, including natural events and human activities.

Factors that cause Climate Change

The sun’s energy output

Volcanic eruptions

Earth’s orbit around the sun

Ocean currents

Land-use changes

Greenhouse gasses emissions from human activity

The most significant factor that contributes to Climate Change is greenhouse gasses emissions from human activity. These gasses form a “blanket” around Earth that traps energy from the sun. This trapped energy makes Earth warm and disturbs the Earth’s climate.

The Impact of Climate Change

Climate change is already happening. It is causing more extreme weather conditions, such as floods and droughts.

Climate change could lead to a loss of biodiversity, as plants and animals are unable to adapt to the changing climate.

Climate change could also cause humanitarian crises, as people are forced to migrate because of extreme weather conditions.

Climate change could damage economies, as businesses and industries have to cope with increased energy costs and disrupted supply chains.

Here are some Tips on How to write a Speech on Climate Change:

Start by doing your research. Climate change is a complex topic, and there's a lot of information out there on it. Make sure you understand the basics of climate change before you start writing your speech.

Write down what you want to say. It can be helpful to draft an outline of your speech before you start writing it in full. This will help ensure that your points are clear and organized.

Be passionate about the topic. Climate change is a serious issue, but that doesn't mean you can't talk about it with passion and enthusiasm. Let your audience know how important you think this issue is.

Make it personal. Climate change isn't just a political or scientific issue - it's something that affects each and every one of us. Talk about how climate change has affected you or your loved ones, and let your audience know why this issue matters to you.

Use visuals to help explain your points. A good speech on climate change can be filled with charts, graphs, and statistics. But don't forget to also use powerful images and stories to help illustrate your points.

Stay positive. Climate change can be a depressing topic, but try not to end your speech on a negative note. Instead, talk about the steps we can take to address climate change and the positive outcomes that could come from it.

Start by defining what climate change is. Climate change is a problem that refers to a broad array of environmental degradation caused by human activities, including the emission of greenhouse gasses.

Talk about the effects of climate change. Climate change has been linked to increased wildfires, more extreme weather events, coastal flooding, and reduced crop yields, among other things.

Offer solutions to climate change. Some solutions include reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, investing in renewable energy sources, and planting trees to help absorb carbon dioxide.

Appeal to your audience’s emotions. Climate change is a problem that affects everyone, and it’s important to get people emotionally invested in the issue.

Make sure your speech is well-organized and easy to follow. Climate change can be a complex topic, so make sure your speech is clear and concise.

FAQs on Climate Change Speech/Global Warming Speech

1. What should be the main focus of my speech? Can I use statistics in my speech?

The main focus of your speech should be on the effects of climate change and the solutions we can enact to address it. However, you can also talk about your personal connection to the issue or how climate change has affected your community. Yes, you can use statistics to support your points, but don’t forget to also use images and stories to help illustrate your points.

2. How much should I talk about the potential solutions to climate change?

You should spend roughly equal time discussing both the effects of climate change and potential solutions. Climate change is a complex issue, and it’s important to provide your audience with both the facts and potential solutions.

3. Can I talk about how climate change has personally affected me in my speech?

Yes, you can talk about how climate change has personally affected you or your loved ones. Climate change is a serious issue that affects everyone, so it’s important to get people emotionally invested in the issue.

4. Are there any other things I should keep in mind while preparing my speech?

Yes, make sure your speech is well-organized and easy to follow. Climate change can be a complex topic, so make sure your speech is clear and concise. Also, remember to appeal to your audience’s emotions and stay positive. Climate change can be a depressing topic, but try not to end your speech on a negative note. Instead, talk about the steps we can take to address climate change and the positive outcomes that could come from it.

5. Where can I find more information about preparing a speech on climate change?

The best place to start is by reading some of the reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). You can also find helpful resources on the websites of Climate Reality Project or Greenpeace.

6. How long should my speech be?

Your speech should be between 5 and 7 minutes in length. Any longer than that, and your audience will start to lose interest. Climate change can be a complex issue, so it’s important to keep your points brief and concise. If you need help organizing your speech, consider using the following outline:

Define what climate change is;

Talk about the effects of climate change;

Offer solutions to climate change;

Appeal to your audience’s emotions.

7. How can I download reading material from Vedantu?

Accessing material from Vedantu is extremely easy and student-friendly. Students have to simply visit the website of  Vedantu and create an account. Once you have created the account you can simply explore the subjects and chapters that you are looking for. Click on the download button available on the website on Vedantu to download the reading material in PDF format. You can also access all the resources by downloading the Vedantu app from the play store.

• JOIN A TRAINING

7 of the Best TED Talks about Climate Change

Imagine being able to invite some of the leading minds of the climate movement over for dinner. You could pick anyone from anywhere. Who would be sitting around your table?

It’s hard to narrow down when there are so many amazing people out there fighting for solutions. (This must have been how Nick Fury felt while he was assembling the Avengers, right?) But, for us, we would try to pick people who are taking on the climate crisis in totally different – but equally incredible – ways.

Think of this collection of TED Talks as our guest list for the world’s most inspiring dinner party on climate. Read on to hear from the leader of the student strike movement, climate scientists, a former president, a trained meteorologist and more.

Greta Thunberg: “S ave the W orld by C hanging the R ules ”  

Quotable Moment: “The year 2078, I will celebrate my 75th birthday. If I have children or grandchildren, maybe they will spend that day with me. Maybe they will ask me about you, the people who were around, back in 2018. Maybe they will ask why you didn't do anything while there still was time to act. ”

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe: “ The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Fight Climate Change: Talk About It”  

Quotable Moment: “I truly believe, after thousands of conversations that I've had over the past decade and more, that just about every single person in the world already has the values they need to care about a changing climate . They just haven't connected the dots. And that's what we can do through our conversation with them.”

Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd: “Three Kinds of Bias that Shape Your Worldview”  

Quotable Moment: “Take an inventory of your own biases. Where do they come from? Your upbringing, your political perspective, your faith – what shapes your own biases? Then, evaluate your sources – where do you get your information on science ? What do you read, what do you listen to, to consume your information on science? And then, it's important to speak out. Talk about how you evaluated your biases and evaluated your sources.”

Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson: “Why Climate Change Is a Threat to Human Rights”  

Quotable Moment: “Climate justice responds to the moral argument – both sides of the moral argument – to address climate change. First of all, to be on the side of those who are suffering most and are most effected. And secondly, to make sure that they're not left behind again, when we start to move and start to address climate change with climate action, as we are doing.”

Dr. Katharine Wilkinson: “How Empowering Women and Girls Can Help Stop Global Warming”  

Quotable Moment: “Another empowering truth begs to be seen. If we gain ground on gender equity, we also gain ground on addressing global warming… we can secure the rights of women and girls, shore up resilience, and avert emissions at the same time.”

Sean Davis: “Lessons from How We Protected the Ozone Layer”  

Quotable Moment: “We don't need absolute certainty to act. When Montreal was signed, we were less certain then of the risks from CFCs than we are now of the risks from greenhouse gas emissions… You know, I'll bet those of you who drove here tonight, you probably wore your seat belt. And so, ask yourself, did you wear your seat belt because someone told you with a hundred percent [certainty] that you would get in a car crash on the way here? Probably not.”

Former US Vice President Al Gore: “The Case for Optimism on Climate Change”  

Quotable Moment: “We have everything we need. Some still doubt that we have the will to act, but I say the will to act is itself a renewable resource. ”

Feeling Inspired?

It’s not exactly a dinner party, but we do often pull together some of the leading minds in the climate movement – including former Vice President Gore himself – for our Climate Reality Leaderships Corps trainings . (In fact, we’ve had Dr. Hayhoe and Dr. Wilkinson at recent trainings, too!)

Consider this your official invite to our next training . At these events, people ready to make a difference in our planet’s future spend three days working with former Vice President Gore and world-renowned scientists and communicators learning about the climate crisis and how together we can solve it.

Join us and walk away knowing you have the skills, network, and resources to push the needle on climate change where you live. Better yet, you’ll be part of a global, twenty-first century movement for solutions. Learn more and apply to join us today!

Header Image: © 2018 TED Conference/Flickr CC BY NC-ND 2.0

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden on Actions to Tackle the Climate   Crisis

Brayton Point Power Station Somerset, Massachusetts

2:43 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  And thank you for your patience.  You’ve been sitting out here.  Appreciate — please, have a seat, if you have one.

Well, hello, Massachusetts.  (Applause.)  It’s an honor to be with your outstanding members of Congress today: Senator Ed Markey.  Ed?  Where’s — there you go.  (Applause.)  Senator Elizabeth Warren.  (Applause.)  Congressman Auchincloss — -oss.  Where is she?  There you go, Jake.  Bill Keating — Congressman.  (Applause.) 

And your great former members and one of my dearest friends, John Kerry, who’s doing a great job leading our international — (applause) — Special Presidential Envoy on Climate, traveling the world and talking with an awful lot of people he’s talking into moving more than they’ve been doing. 

And another great Massachusetts nata- — native, Gina McCarthy.  Gina?  (Applause.)  There she is.  My National Climate Advisor is leading our climate efforts here at home.

It’s an honor to be joined by your neighbor by — your neighbor from Rhode Island.  He’s not a bad guy at all.  (Laughter.)  I live in his house.  Sheldon Whitehouse — a great champion — (applause) — a great champion of the environment.  And he’d been banging away at it.

I come here today with a message: As President, I have a responsibility to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger.  And that’s what climate change is about.  It is literally, not figuratively, a clear and present danger.

The health of our citizens and our communities is literally at stake.

The U.N.’s leading international climate scientists called the latest climate report nothing less than, quote, “code red for humanity.”  Let me say it again: “Code red for humanity.”  It’s not a group of political official — elected officials.  These are the scientists.

We see here in America, in red states and blue states, extreme weather events costing $145 billion — $145 billion in damages just last year — more powerful and destructive hurricanes and tornadoes. 

I’ve flown over the vast majority of them out west and down in Louisiana, all across America.  It’s a — it’s amazing to see. 

Ravaging hundred-year-old droughts occurring every few years instead of every hundred years.  Wildfires out west that have burned and destroyed more than 5 million acres — everything in its path.  That is more land than the entire state of New Jersey, from New York down to the tip of Delaware.  It’s amazing.  Five million acres.

Our national security is at stake as well.  Extreme weather is already damaging our military installations here in the States.  And our economy is at risk.  So we have to act.

Extreme weather disrupts supply chains, causing delays and shortages for consumers and businesses.

Climate change is literally an existential threat to our nation and to the world. 

So my message today is this: Since Congress is not acting as it should — and these guys here are, but we’re not getting many Republican votes — this is an emergency.  An emergency.  And I will — I will look at it that way.

I said last week and I’ll say it again loud and clear: As President, I’ll use my executive powers to combat climate — the climate crisis in the absence of congressional actions, notwithstanding their incredible action.  (Applause.) 

In the coming days, my administration will announce the executive actions we have developed to combat this emergency.  We need to act. 

But just take a look around: Right now, 100 million Americans are under heat alert — 100 million Americans.  Ninety communities across America set records for high temperatures just this year, including here in New England as we speak.

And, by the way, records have been set in the Arctic and the Antarctic, with temperatures that are just unbelievable, melting the permafrost.  And it’s astounding the damage that’s being done.

And this crisis impacts every aspect of our everyday life.  That’s why today I’m making the largest investment ever — $2.3 billion — to help communities across the country build infrastructure that is designed to withstand the full range of disasters we’ve been seeing up to today -– extreme heat, drought, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes.

Right now, there are millions of people suffering from extreme heat at home.  So my team is also working with the states to deploy $385 million right now.

For the first time, states will be able to use federal funds to pay for air conditioners in homes, set up community cooling centers in schools where people can get through these extreme heat crises.  And I mean people — and crises that are 100 to 117 degrees.

An Infrastructure Law that your members of Congress have delivered includes $3.1 billion to weatherize homes and make them more energy efficient, which will lower energy cost while keeping America cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and not using too much energy.

And my Department of Labor, led by a guy named Marty Walsh — (said in Boston accent) — he talks funny, but he’s a hell of a guy.  (Applause.)  But all kidding aside, Marty was a great mayor, and I know — I know he knows how to get a job done. 

And he’s doing two things for me:

First of all, as Secretary of Labor, he’s developing the first-ever workplace standards for extreme heat, saying, under these cond- — under these conditions, if it hits this pr- — you cannot do the following — you cannot ask people to do a certain thing.

Second, he’s sending folks out from the Labor Department to make sure we hold workplaces and — to those standards that are being set.  They’ve already completed over 500 heat-related inspections of workplaces across 43 states.  At the end of the day, it’s going to save lives.

Now, let me tell you why we’re here at Brayton Point.  Five years ago, this towering power plant that once stood with cooling towers 500 feet high closed down.  The coal plant at Brayton Point was the largest of its kind in New England — 1,500 megawatts of power, enough to power one in five Massachusetts homes and businesses.

For over 50 years, this plant supported this region’s economy through their electrici- — the electricity they supplied, the good jobs they provided, and the local taxes they paid.

But the plant, like many others around the country, had another legacy: one of toxins, smog, greenhouse gas emissions, the kind of pollution that contributed to the climate emergency we now face today.

Gina McCarthy, a former regulator in Massachusetts, was telling me on the way up how folks used to get a rag out and wipe the gunk off of their car’s windshields in the morning just to be able to drive — not very much unlike where I grew up in a place called Claymont, Delaware — which has more oil refineries than Houston, Texas, had in its region — just across the line in Pennsylvania.  And all the prevailing winds were our way. I just lived up the road.  I just — in an apartment complex when we moved to Delaware.  And just up the road was a little school I went to, Holy Rosary grade school.  And because it was a four-lane highway that was accessible, my mother drove us and — rather than us be able to walk. And guess what?  The first frost, you knew what was happening.  You had to put on your windshield wipers to get, literally, the oil slick off the window.  That’s why I and so damn many other people I grew up [with] have cancer and why can- — for the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation.

But that’s the past, and we’re going to get — we’re going to build a different future with one — one with clean energy, good-paying jobs.

Just 15 years ago, America generated more than half its electricity from coal — coal-fired plants.  Today, that’s down to 20 percent because there’s a big transition happening.

Many of these fossil fuel plants are becoming sites for new clean energy construction.  Others are switching to new, clean technologies.

Look at Brayton Point.  Today, Brayton is one of the frontiers — on the frontier of clean energy in America.  On this site, they’ll manufacture four hun- — 248 miles of high-tech, heavy-duty cables.  Those specialized, subsea cables are necessary to tie offshore wind farms to the existing grid.

Manufacturing these cables will mean good-paying jobs for 250 workers — as many workers as the old plant — power plant had at its peak. 

And the port — (applause) — the port here, 34 feet deep, was used to carry coal into the power plant.  Now we’re going to use that same port to carry components of — for wind power into the sea.

The converter station here and the substation nearby are the assets that move energy across the power lines.

They’ll now move clean electricity generated offshore by the wind — (applause) — enough power to power hundreds of thousands of homes onto the grid — putting old assets to work delivering clean energy.  This didn’t happen by accident.  It happened because we believed and invested in America’s innovation and ingenuity.

One of the companies investing in the factory here joined me at the White House this month.  Vineyard Winds, whose CEO told me about the ground-breaking project labor agreements they’ve negotiated, would create good-paying union jobs.  (Applause.)

And I want to compliment Congressman Bill Keating for his work in this area.

I’m also proud to point out that my administration approved the first commercial project for offshore wind in America, which is being constructed by Vineyard Winds.

Folks, elsewhere in the country, we are pr- — we are propelling retrofits and ensuring that even where fossil fuel plant retires, they still have a role in powering the future.

In Illinois, for example, the state has launched a broad effort to invest in converting old power plants to solar farms, led by Governor Pritzker.

In California, the IBEW members have helped turn a former oil plant into the world’s largest battery storage facility — the world’s largest facility.

In Wyoming, innovators are chosen to — a retiring plant as the next site for the next-generation nuclear plant.

And my administr- — my administration is a partner in that progress, driving federal resources and funding to the communities that have powered this country for generations.  And that’s why they need to be taken care of as well.

I want to thank Cecil Roberts, a friend and President of United Mine Workers of America, and so many other labor leaders who worked with — worked with on these initiatives.

Since I took office, we’ve invested more than $4 billion in federal funding to the 25 hardest-hit coal communities in the country, from West Virginia, to Kentucky, to Wyoming, to New Mexico.

Through the Infrastructure Law, we’re investing in clean hydrogen, nuclear, and carbon capture with the largest grid investment in American history.

We’ve secured $16 billion to clean up abandoned mines and wells, protecting thousands of communities from toxins and waste, particularly methane.  And we still — and we’re going to seal leaking methane pollution — an incredibly power[ful] greenhouse gas that’s 40 times more dangerous to the environment than carbon dioxide.  (Applause.)

And, folks, with American leadership back on climate, I was able to bring more world leaders together than — we got 100 nations together to agree that — at the major conference in Glasgow, England — I mean, Scotland — to change the emissions policies we had.

We’ve made real progress, but there is an enormous task ahead.  We have to keep retaining and recruiting building trades and union electricians for jobs in wind, solar, hydrogen, nuclear, creating even more and better jobs.

We have to revitalize communities, especially those fence-line communities that are smothered by the legacy of pollution.

We have to outcompete China and in the world, and make these technologies here in the United States — not have to import them.

Folks, when I think about climate change — and I’ve been saying this for three years — I think jobs.  Climate change, I think jobs.  (Applause.)

Almost 100 wind turbines going up off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island with ground broken and work underway.

Jobs manufacturing 2,500-ton steel foundations that anchor these offshore wind farms to the sea’s floor.  Jobs manufacturing a Jones Act vessel in Texas to service these offshore wind farms.

We’re going to make sure that the ocean is open for the clean energy of our future, and everything we can do — give a green light to wind power on the Atlantic coast, where my predecessor’s actions only created confusion.

And today we begin the process to develop wind power in the Gulf of Mexico as well for the first time.  A real opportunity to power millions of additional homes from wind.

Let’s clear the way — let’s clear the way for clean energy and connect these projects to the grid.

I’ve directed my administration to clear every federal hurdle and streamline federal permitting that brings these clean energy projects online right now and right away.  And some of you have already come up and talked to me about that.  (Applause.)  

And while so many governors and mayors have been strong partners in this fight to tackle climate change, we need all governors and mayors.  We need public utility commissioners and state agency heads.  We need electric utilities and developers to stand up and be part of the solution.  Don’t be a road block.  (Applause.)

You all have a duty right now to our economy, to our competitiveness in the world, to the young people in this nation, and to future generations — and that sounds like hyperbole but it’s not; it’s real — to act boldly on climate.

And so does Congress, which — notwithstanding the leadership of the men and women that are here today — has failed in this duty.  Not a single Republican in Congress stepped up to support my climate plan.  Not one. 

So, let me be clear: Climate change is an emergency. 

And in the coming weeks, I’m going to use the power I have as President to turn these words into formal, official government actions through the appropriate proclamations, executive orders, and regulatory power that a President possesses.  (Applause.) 

And when it comes to fighting the climate change — climate change, I will not take no for an answer.  I will do everything in my power to clean our air and water, protect our people’s health, to win the clean energy future. 

This, again, sounds like hyperbole, but our children and grandchildren are counting on us.  Not a joke.  Not a joke.  

If we don’t keep it below 1.5 degrees Centigrade, we lose it all.  We don’t get to turn it around.  And the world is counting on us.  And this is the United States of America.  When we put our hearts and minds to it, there’s not a single thing beyond our capacity — I mean it — when we act together. 

And of all things we should be acting together on, it’s climate.  It’s climate.

And, by the way, my dear mother — God rest her soul — used to say, “Joey, out of everything bad, something good will come if you look hard enough.”  Look what’s happening.  We’re going to be able to create as many or more good-paying jobs.  We’re going to make environments where people live safer.  We’re going to make the clean — the air safer.  I really mean it.  We have an opportunity here. 

I’ll bet you when you see what’s happened here in this cable construction here — manufacturing — and you go back and ask all the people who grew up in this beautiful place what they’d rather have: Do they want the plant back with everything it had, or what you’re going to have?  I will be dumbfounded if you find anybody, other than for pure sentimental reasons, saying, “I’d rather have the coal plant.” 

I’ll end by telling you another quick story.  When we moved from Scranton — when coal died in Scranton, everything died in Scranton.  And my dad wasn’t a coal miner.  My — my great — my great-grandfather was a mining engineer.  But my dad was in sales, and there was no work.  So we left to go down to Delaware, where I told you where those oil plants were. 

But I remember driving home — when you take the trolley in Scranton, going out North Washington and Adams Avenues.  Within 15 blocks — we didn’t live in the neighborhood — among the most prestigious neighborhood in the region, in the — in the town where the Scrantons and other good, decent people lived, there was a pla- — you’d go by a wall that — my recollection is it was somewhere between 15 and 18 feet tall.  And it went for the — essentially, a city block. 

And you could see the coal piled up to the very top of the wall from inside.  It was a coal-fired plant.  A coal-fired plant.  And all of that — all of the negative impacts of breathing that coal, the dust were effecting everybody.  But at the time, people didn’t know it and there wasn’t any alternative.

Folks, we have no excuse now.  We know it.  There are answers for it.  We can make things better in terms of jobs.  We can make things better in terms of the environment.  We can make things better for families overall.  So I’m looking forward to this movement. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  May God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

3:02 P.M. EDT

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• Speech Writing /

Speech on Climate Change For Students

• Updated on  
• Dec 18, 2023

How do you feel when covered completely overhead? It must be suffocating, and in the meanwhile, due to the scale down of oxygen, your brain, after some time, will stop responding due to a deep state of unconsciousness. 

The above situation was just an example to describe the trapping of carbon dioxide. Imagine what will happen if our environment gets trapped with harmful gasses and inhaling oxygen comes with no options. All such adverse effects of climate change can be hazardous for all living beings.

As a burning topic of the current scenario, we will discuss this burning climate change speech for students.

Also Read: Essay on Climate Change

Long Speech On Climate Change

Greetings to all the teachers and students gathered here. Today, I stand before you to address a matter of urgency and global significance—Climate Change. In my climate change speech, I have tried to cover relevant facts, figures, adverse effects and, importantly, how to save our environment from climate change. 

Also Read: Essay on Global Warming 

As per data studies by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there is a continuous increase in global temperature with a comprehensive rise. Hazardous situations of this increase in temperature will follow up in the coming years, too, which is again an unfortunate signal.

Earth signals, which are constant by nature and cannot be reverted, are increasing. 

The rise in drought, floods, wildfires, and utmost rainfall continuously reflects the signals that are not sound indicators. Again, if we talk about numbers and statistics, the sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warned humans about heat-trapping figures of nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) from 1850 to 1900. 

Moreover, the body has warned about the expected reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades.

Now here comes a question, what has led to such an adverse situation? 

Natural reasons such as pollen remains, glacier lengths, ocean sediments and more are some of the naturally occurring processes that contribute a little portion to climate change. But the major contributor to this worst condition, after an industrial revolution, is only created by human activities. 

Regular cutting of forests or deforestation, burning of fossil fuels for releasing energy, regular use of fertilizers in agriculture, and livestock farming are some of the major reasons for climate change in the environment. 

Despite all the adverse effects of global climatic change, many organizations, both private and government, are working for the welfare of climate change. 

However, since humans are responsible for this disaster, we should try our best to curb it in the safest and most secure possible ways; likewise, using less private transportation, switching to e-bikes or zero-emissions vehicles following the practice of reducing, reusing, repair and recycle and practicing more use of plastic free products. 

All such efforts will help curb the ill effects of the climate of the earth and environment. 

Also Read: Environmental Conservation

Deforestation, changes in naturally occurring carbon dioxide concentrations, livestock farming, and burning fossil fuels are major causes of climate change.

Less tree cutting, less dependency on fossil fuels, use of different forms of natural energy, and use of electric vehicles can solve the problem of global climatic change.

Paris Agreement is an agreement between 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) to reduce and mitigate Greenhouse Gas emissions.

Rise in temperature, drought, soil erosion, landslides, and floods are some of the adverse effects of climatic changes in the environment. 

The Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement are important international agreements on climate change.

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Deepika Joshi

Deepika Joshi is an experienced content writer with expertise in creating educational and informative content. She has a year of experience writing content for speeches, essays, NCERT, study abroad and EdTech SaaS. Her strengths lie in conducting thorough research and ananlysis to provide accurate and up-to-date information to readers. She enjoys staying updated on new skills and knowledge, particulary in education domain. In her free time, she loves to read articles, and blogs with related to her field to further expand her expertise. In personal life, she loves creative writing and aspire to connect with innovative people who have fresh ideas to offer.

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Unicef climate advocate speech on climate change and sdgs, climate change is now our reality. it is causing these extreme weather events to be more frequent and more severe..

Special Message by Representatives of Young People

9am February 25th – African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, Victoria Falls.

Good Morning. My name is Nkosilathi Nyathi, and I am a UNICEF-Climate Youth Ambassador and a proud Zimbabwean and African youth under the Zimbabwe Youth Council.

Welcome to Victoria Falls. My home. It is also home to the magnificent Victoria Falls or in our local Lozi language, Mosi-oa-tunya which means the ‘Smoke that Thunders’.

I grew up just a few minutes from where we are today. In Chinotimba township. And while I grew up in poverty, with everybody struggling all around me. I noticed something that affected the poverty of my community, of my family and friends, just as much as all the economic and social problems and the political issues we face in my country.

It was the environment! Our natural world around us, our atmosphere and our biodiversity. We are experiencing the worst drought, right here in my backyard, in 100 years. I live it. My family lives it. Farmers have had little harvest for years now. When it doesn’t rain we suffer. And now when it does rain, it floods and we suffer.

Two weeks ago, about one hundred kilometres down the Zambezi river the town of Binga was left devastated after many homes and livelihoods were washed away by floods.

We all know about the devastating impact of Cyclone Idai that hit Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe last year turning the lives of 1 million children upside down.

Friends, leaders….

Climate Change is now our reality. It is causing these extreme weather events to be more frequent and more severe. The plagues of locusts that are decimating Eastern Africa – many of your countries – are made worse through climatic impacts such as drought and floods. Since I was 10, I have been passionate about this.

I am proud that I have been part of environmental clubs since grade 5.

I am currently the vice president of the environmental club at my school – Inyathi high school.

In December last year I embarked on the biggest adventure of my life. I had the honour of speaking at the COP 25 in Madrid. I experienced and was involved in the debates, the meetings and the negotiations to figure out how we can lower our emissions and adapt to climate change. It opened my eyes to the huge efforts going on at the global scale.

But what struck me, as I nervously sat in that airplane for the first time, and I looked down at the parched landscape of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa with farmland laying bare, the rivers and dams drying up.

I thought to myself that there millions of children and young people down there dealing with these harsh environments, food shortages and failing social conditions on the ground. They… We are the future.

We are here to talk about Sustainable Development. But we need to recognise that the environment and climate change form the foundation of all the SDGs.

If we fail to achieve the goals related to Clean Water and Sanitation, Climate Action, Life Below Water, and Life on Land, the world will fail to achieve all the other remaining goals. The eradication of poverty, zero hunger, peace and justice, education, good health, just to name a few. These are the goals that affect my life every day!

Protecting the environment is one of the most important requirements for social justice and economic development… and ensuring the rights of children all around the world. In Spain I called on the leaders at the COP to work extra hard to solve the climate and biodiversity emergency.

I also made a plea to involve us – the voices and opinions of children and young people – in creating the policies and making decisions about the climate and environment, which in the end will impact us and our children in the future.

I am happy that in Zimbabwe, the government involved young people the production of the country’s climate policy document. But please, can the plans now become actions! We are here. We are smart. We are activists. We have solutions. Involve us!

Did you know that when I was 14, I invented a biogas stove in my backyard. I learned that if we composted food scraps in a special container they would breakdown and provide natural gas that could be tapped into a stove to cook on.

I built it. And it not only reuses our food and kitchen waste in a sustainable way, but it meant we don’t need to rely on burning fossil fuels for energy. And in a place like Zimbabwe, where we have a terrible fuel and power crisis, this helped us survive.

So friends and leaders…

As I speak to you here today on this stage, with my President beside me, other important leaders and decision makers, down here on the ground in Victoria Falls, in my backyard.

I make a bigger plea to you…. A demand. Please take all the things we talk about and debate this week and put it into action…. Young people have already started putting their words into practice through the various forums on Youth SDGs. Go back to Harare, to Nairobi, to Pretoria, to Geneva, to New York and Act!

But in doing so, call on your young people… the student leaders, the activists, the science enthusiasts, the video gamers, the young sports stars and bring them into the rooms when you are planning your actions and policies. Listen to their views and ideas!

‘Nothing for us, without us, is for us’

I hope you enjoy your stay in my hometown and that for generations to come Mosi-oa-tunya’s smoke continues to thunder!

Related topics

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Newsnote: UNICEF launches communication campaign on climate

Rising Heat, Drought and Disease: Climate Crisis Poses Grave Risks to Children in Eastern and Southern Africa

TUI Junior Academy project supports the Clean Green Zimbabwe Initiative to empower children as change agents on climate and environment in their communities

24 January 2024 - International Day of Education - Inclusive education is not only a matter of policy but a moral imperative

UN climate chief says 2 years to avert worse climate change

By simon jessop and kate abnett, reuters | updated - april 10, 2024 at 11:39 a.m. | posted - april 10, 2024 at 9:20 a.m., united nations climate chief simon stiell speaks in dubai, united arab emirates, feb. 12. stiell warned global warming is slipping down politicians' agendas. (amr alfiky, reuters).

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

LONDON — Governments, business leaders and development banks have two years to take action to avert far worse climate change, the U.N.'s climate chief said on Wednesday, in a speech that warned global warming is slipping down politicians' agendas.

Scientists say halving climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is crucial to stop a rise in temperatures of more than 2.7 Fahrenheit that would unleash more extreme weather and heat.

Yet last year, the world's energy-related CO2 emissions increased to a record high. Current commitments to fight climate change would barely cut global emissions at all by 2030.

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change said the next two years are "essential in saving our planet."

"We still have a chance to make greenhouse gas emissions tumble, with a new generation of national climate plans. But we need these stronger plans, now," he said.

Speaking at an event at the Chatham House think-tank in London, Stiell said the Group of 20 leading economic powers — together, responsible for 80% of global emissions — urgently needed to step up.

The main task for this year's U.N. climate negotiations is for countries to agree to a new target for climate finance to support developing countries struggling to invest in shifting away from fossil fuels and fighting climate change.

Stiell said more climate finance should be delivered through debt relief, cheaper financing for poorer countries, new sources of international finance such as a tax on shipping emissions, and reforms at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which hold their annual Spring Meetings this month.

"Every day finance ministers, CEOs, investors, and climate bankers and development bankers, direct trillions of dollars. It's time to shift those dollars," he said.

As well as more funding to the World Bank's International Development Association, Stiell urged an overhaul of its capital requirements and expansion of its use of Climate Resilient Debt Clauses, which suspends debt repayments in the event of natural disasters.

In a bumper year for elections around the world — with voters going to the polls from India, to South Africa and the United States — Stiell warned too often climate action was "slipping down cabinet agenda."

Politicians from Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in the United States, to far-right parties seeking gains in the EU's upcoming election, have pushed back on climate policies as they court voters.

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How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall

Elon musk’s factory in china saved his company and made him ultrarich. now, it may backfire..

Hosted by Katrin Bennhold

Featuring Mara Hvistendahl

Produced by Rikki Novetsky and Mooj Zadie

With Rachelle Bonja

Edited by Lisa Chow and Alexandra Leigh Young

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Diane Wong ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Sophia Lanman

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

When Elon Musk set up Tesla’s factory in China, he made a bet that brought him cheap parts and capable workers — a bet that made him ultrarich and saved his company.

Mara Hvistendahl, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains why, now, that lifeline may have given China the tools to beat Tesla at its own game.

On today’s episode

Mara Hvistendahl , an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading

A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also bound him to Beijing .

Mr. Musk helped create the Chinese electric vehicle industry. But he is now facing challenges there as well as scrutiny in the West over his reliance on China.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Fact-checking by Susan Lee .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Katrin Bennhold is the Berlin bureau chief. A former Nieman fellow at Harvard University, she previously reported from London and Paris, covering a range of topics from the rise of populism to gender. More about Katrin Bennhold

Mara Hvistendahl is an investigative reporter for The Times focused on Asia. More about Mara Hvistendahl

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