climate change speech 500 words

Climate Change Essay for Students and Children

500+ words climate change essay.

Climate change refers to the change in the environmental conditions of the earth. This happens due to many internal and external factors. The climatic change has become a global concern over the last few decades. Besides, these climatic changes affect life on the earth in various ways. These climatic changes are having various impacts on the ecosystem and ecology. Due to these changes, a number of species of plants and animals have gone extinct.

When Did it Start?

The climate started changing a long time ago due to human activities but we came to know about it in the last century. During the last century, we started noticing the climatic change and its effect on human life. We started researching on climate change and came to know that the earth temperature is rising due to a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. The warming up of earth surface causes many ozone depletion, affect our agriculture , water supply, transportation, and several other problems.

Reason Of Climate Change

Although there are hundreds of reason for the climatic change we are only going to discuss the natural and manmade (human) reasons.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Natural Reasons

These include volcanic eruption , solar radiation, tectonic plate movement, orbital variations. Due to these activities, the geographical condition of an area become quite harmful for life to survive. Also, these activities raise the temperature of the earth to a great extent causing an imbalance in nature.

Human Reasons

Man due to his need and greed has done many activities that not only harm the environment but himself too. Many plant and animal species go extinct due to human activity. Human activities that harm the climate include deforestation, using fossil fuel , industrial waste , a different type of pollution and many more. All these things damage the climate and ecosystem very badly. And many species of animals and birds got extinct or on a verge of extinction due to hunting.

Effects Of Climatic Change

These climatic changes have a negative impact on the environment. The ocean level is rising, glaciers are melting, CO2 in the air is increasing, forest and wildlife are declining, and water life is also getting disturbed due to climatic changes. Apart from that, it is calculated that if this change keeps on going then many species of plants and animals will get extinct. And there will be a heavy loss to the environment.

What will be Future?

If we do not do anything and things continue to go on like right now then a day in future will come when humans will become extinct from the surface of the earth. But instead of neglecting these problems we start acting on then we can save the earth and our future.

Although humans mistake has caused great damage to the climate and ecosystem. But, it is not late to start again and try to undo what we have done until now to damage the environment. And if every human start contributing to the environment then we can be sure of our existence in the future.

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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.

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Essay on Climate Change

Climate Change Essay - The globe is growing increasingly sensitive to climate change. It is currently a serious worldwide concern. The term "Climate Change" describes changes to the earth's climate. It explains the atmospheric changes that have occurred across time, spanning from decades to millions of years. Here are some sample essays on climate change.

100 Words Essay on Climate Change

200 words essay on climate change, 500 words essay on climate change.

The climatic conditions on Earth are changing due to climate change. Several internal and external variables, such as solar radiation, variations in the Earth's orbit, volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics, etc., are to blame for this.

There are strategies for climate change reduction. If not implemented, the weather might get worse, there might be water scarcity, there could be lower agricultural output, and it might affect people's ability to make a living. In order to breathe clean air and drink pure water, you must concentrate on limiting human activity. These are the simple measures that may be taken to safeguard the environment and its resources.

The climate of the Earth has changed significantly over time. While some of these changes were brought on by natural events like volcanic eruptions, floods, forest fires, etc., many of the changes were brought on by human activity. The burning of fossil fuels, domesticating livestock, and other human activities produce a significant quantity of greenhouse gases. This results in an increase of greenhouse effect and global warming which are the major causes for climate change.

Reasons of Climate Change

Some of the reasons of climate change are:

Deforestation

Excessive use of fossil fuels

Water and soil pollution

Plastic and other non biodegradable waste

Wildlife and nature extinction

Consequences of Climate Change

All kinds of life on earth will be affected by climate change if it continues to change at the same pace. The earth's temperature will increase, the monsoon patterns will shift, the sea level will rise, and there will be more frequent storms, volcano eruptions, and other natural calamities. The earth's biological and ecological equilibrium will be disturbed. Humans won't be able to access clean water or air to breathe when the environment becomes contaminated. The end of life on this earth is imminent. To reduce the issue of climate change, we need to bring social awareness along with strict measures to protect and preserve the natural environment.

A shift in the world's climatic pattern is referred to as climate change. Over the centuries, the climate pattern of our planet has undergone modifications. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has significantly grown.

When Did Climate Change Begin

It is possible to see signs of climate change as early as the beginning of the industrial revolution. The pace at which the manufacturers produced things on a large scale required a significant amount of raw materials. Since the raw materials being transformed into finished products now have such huge potential for profit, these business models have spread quickly over the world. Hazardous substances and chemicals build up in the environment as a result of company emissions and waste disposal.

Although climate change is a natural occurrence, it is evident that human activity is turning into the primary cause of the current climate change situation. The major cause is the growing population. Natural resources are utilised more and more as a result of the population's fast growth placing a heavy burden on the available resources. Over time, as more and more products and services are created, pollution will eventually increase.

Causes of Climate Change

There are a number of factors that have contributed towards weather change in the past and continue to do so. Let us look at a few:

Solar Radiation |The climate of earth is determined by how quickly the sun's energy is absorbed and distributed throughout space. This energy is transmitted throughout the world by the winds, ocean currents etc which affects the climatic conditions of the world. Changes in solar intensity have an effect on the world's climate.

Deforestation | The atmosphere's carbon dioxide is stored by trees. As a result of their destruction, carbon dioxide builds up more quickly since there are no trees to absorb it. Additionally, trees release the carbon they stored when we burn them.

Agriculture | Many kinds of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere by growing crops and raising livestock. Animals, for instance, create methane, a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The nitrous oxide used in fertilisers is roughly 300 times more strong than carbon dioxide.

How to Prevent Climate Change

We need to look out for drastic steps to stop climate change since it is affecting the resources and life on our planet. We can stop climate change if the right solutions are put in place. Here are some strategies for reducing climate change:

Raising public awareness of climate change

Prohibiting tree-cutting and deforestation.

Ensure the surroundings are clean.

Refrain from using chemical fertilisers.

Water and other natural resource waste should be reduced.

Protect the animals and plants.

Purchase energy-efficient goods and equipment.

Increase the number of trees in the neighbourhood and its surroundings.

Follow the law and safeguard the environment's resources.

Reduce the amount of energy you use.

During the last few decades especially, climate change has grown to be of concern. Global concern has been raised over changes in the Earth's climatic pattern. The causes of climate change are numerous, as well as the effects of it and it is our responsibility as inhabitants of this planet to look after its well being and leave it in a better condition for future generations.

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Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive.

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Product manager.

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.

Operations Manager

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Stock Analyst

Individuals who opt for a career as a stock analyst examine the company's investments makes decisions and keep track of financial securities. The nature of such investments will differ from one business to the next. Individuals in the stock analyst career use data mining to forecast a company's profits and revenues, advise clients on whether to buy or sell, participate in seminars, and discussing financial matters with executives and evaluate annual reports.

A Researcher is a professional who is responsible for collecting data and information by reviewing the literature and conducting experiments and surveys. He or she uses various methodological processes to provide accurate data and information that is utilised by academicians and other industry professionals. Here, we will discuss what is a researcher, the researcher's salary, types of researchers.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues.

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems.

Safety Manager

A Safety Manager is a professional responsible for employee’s safety at work. He or she plans, implements and oversees the company’s employee safety. A Safety Manager ensures compliance and adherence to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines.

Conservation Architect

A Conservation Architect is a professional responsible for conserving and restoring buildings or monuments having a historic value. He or she applies techniques to document and stabilise the object’s state without any further damage. A Conservation Architect restores the monuments and heritage buildings to bring them back to their original state.

Structural Engineer

A Structural Engineer designs buildings, bridges, and other related structures. He or she analyzes the structures and makes sure the structures are strong enough to be used by the people. A career as a Structural Engineer requires working in the construction process. It comes under the civil engineering discipline. A Structure Engineer creates structural models with the help of computer-aided design software.

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description: A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Field Surveyor

Are you searching for a Field Surveyor Job Description? A Field Surveyor is a professional responsible for conducting field surveys for various places or geographical conditions. He or she collects the required data and information as per the instructions given by senior officials.

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Pathologist

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Veterinary Doctor

Speech therapist, gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth.

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Are you searching for an ‘Anatomist job description’? An Anatomist is a research professional who applies the laws of biological science to determine the ability of bodies of various living organisms including animals and humans to regenerate the damaged or destroyed organs. If you want to know what does an anatomist do, then read the entire article, where we will answer all your questions.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs.

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story.

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook.

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion.

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article.

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Individuals who opt for a career as a reporter may often be at work on national holidays and festivities. He or she pitches various story ideas and covers news stories in risky situations. Students can pursue a BMC (Bachelor of Mass Communication) , B.M.M. (Bachelor of Mass Media) , or MAJMC (MA in Journalism and Mass Communication) to become a reporter. While we sit at home reporters travel to locations to collect information that carries a news value.

Corporate Executive

Are you searching for a Corporate Executive job description? A Corporate Executive role comes with administrative duties. He or she provides support to the leadership of the organisation. A Corporate Executive fulfils the business purpose and ensures its financial stability. In this article, we are going to discuss how to become corporate executive.

Multimedia Specialist

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications.

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product.

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans.

Process Development Engineer

The Process Development Engineers design, implement, manufacture, mine, and other production systems using technical knowledge and expertise in the industry. They use computer modeling software to test technologies and machinery. An individual who is opting career as Process Development Engineer is responsible for developing cost-effective and efficient processes. They also monitor the production process and ensure it functions smoothly and efficiently.

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party.

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems.

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

Information Security Manager

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack

ITSM Manager

Automation test engineer.

An Automation Test Engineer job involves executing automated test scripts. He or she identifies the project’s problems and troubleshoots them. The role involves documenting the defect using management tools. He or she works with the application team in order to resolve any issues arising during the testing process.

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Global Warming Speech: 1, 2, 3-5 Minute Speech

Updated on
Feb 3, 2024

Global warming refers to the long-term rise in Earth’s average surface temperature. Since the 18th-century Industrial Revolution in European Countries, global annual temperature has increased in total by a little more than 1 degree Celsius. Global Warming is one of the most concerning issues facing us, as it threatens the existence of life on Earth. Greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, industrial processes, waste management, etc are all reasons for global warming.

Did you know: Antarctica is losing ice mass at an average rate of about 150 billion tons per year, and Greenland is losing about 270 billion tons per year, adding to sea level rise?

Today, weather prediction has been becoming more complex with every passing year, with seasons more indistinguishable, and the general temperatures hotter. The number of natural disasters like hurricanes, cyclones, droughts, floods, etc., has risen steadily since the onset of the 21st century. The supervillain behind all these changes is Global Warming. The name is quite self-explanatory; it means the rise in the temperature of the Earth. Since childhood, we all have heard about it, but just as a formality, let us first understand what global warming is!

Quick Read: 2-Minute Speech on Holi

This Blog Includes:

Short global warming speech 100-150 words (1 minute), global warming speech 250 words (2 minutes), global warming speech 500- 700 words (3- 5 minutes), 10-line global warming speech, causes of global warming, ways to tackle global warming.

It means a rise in global temperature due to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activities and inventions. In scientific words, Global Warming is when the earth heats (the temperature rises). It occurs when the earth’s atmosphere warms up as a result of the sun’s heat and light being trapped by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapour, nitrous oxide, and methane. Many people, animals, and plants are harmed by this. Many people die because they can’t handle the shift.

Good morning to everyone present here today I am going to present a speech on global warming. Global Warming is caused by the increase of carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere and is a result of human activities that have been causing harm to our environment for the past few centuries now. Global Warming is something that can’t be ignored and steps have to be taken to tackle the situation globally. The average temperature is constantly rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius for the last few years. The best method to prevent future damage to the earth, cutting down more forests should be banned and Afforestation should be encouraged. Start by planting trees near your homes and offices, participate in events, and teach the importance of planting trees. It is impossible to undo the damage but it is possible to stop further harm.

Good morning everyone and topic of my speech today is global warming. Over a long period, it is observed that the Earth’s temperature is rising rapidly. This affected the wildlife, animals, humans, and every living organism on earth. Glaciers have been melting, and many countries have started water shortages, flooding, erosion and all this is because of global warming. No one can be blamed for global warming except for humans. Human activities such as gases released from power plants, transportation, and deforestation have resulted in the increase of gases such as carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants in the earth’s atmosphere. The main question is how can we control the current situation and build a better world for future generations. It starts with little steps by every individual. Start using cloth bags made from sustainable materials for all shopping purposes, instead of using the high-watt lights use the energy-efficient bulbs, switch off the electricity, don’t waste water, abolish deforestation and encourage planting more trees. Shift the use of energy from petroleum or other fossil fuels to wind and solar energy. Instead of throwing out the old clothes donate them to someone so that it is recycled. Donate old books, don’t waste paper. Above all, spread awareness about global warming. Every little thing a person does towards saving the earth will contribute in big or small amounts. We must learn that 1% effort is better than no effort. Pledge to take care of Mother Nature and speak up about global warming.

Also Read: How To Become an Environmentalist?

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What I learned about writing from reading Greta Thunberg’s speech to the U.N.

One way to learn writing strategies is to study the texts of successful speeches. Over the years, I have X-rayed the Gettysburg Address, “I Have a Dream,” and the oratory of both Barack and Michelle Obama. I note, for example, that the former First Lady once reminded her audience that “I live in a house that was built by slaves.” In describing the White House in this manner, she placed the emphatic word — “slaves” — at the end, where it had its best effect.

If a speechwriter had written for her: “Slaves built the house I live in,” Michelle Obama would have been within her rights to hire another.

Oral expression of language precedes the written word by, oh, a gazillion years. And let’s remember that the word “rhetoric,” which can apply to many forms of expression, once emphasized the spoken word — the use of public language by, say, Roman Senators, for the purpose of persuasion.

RELATED STORY: Why It Worked: A Rhetorical Analysis of Obama’s Speech on Race

In fact, the technique of emphatic word order used by Michelle Obama — and Lincoln and MLK Jr. — is encouraged by the Roman educator and rhetorician Quintilian more than 2,000 years ago.

Which brings us to 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental activist who recently delivered a short speech — about 500 words — to the U.N. Climate Action Summit in New York City.

I am in no position to judge her scientific evidence. I assume the fact-checkers have been on her trail, with no major corrections in sight. Critics on the right have argued she is a pawn of the left and could not have written such a speech. At least one has gone so far as to disqualify her because she has Asperger’s Syndrome.

Before we get to the speech itself, I would like to debunk the notion that no teenager could have written such a text. It must be, the theory goes, the work of, dare I say it, AN ADULT. She is nothing more than a ventriloquist’s dummy. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that someone else wrote the speech, or helped her write it. If this is a disqualification, then every politician who has mouthed the words of a clever speechwriter deserves to be un-tongued.

I have taught writers at all levels, including elementary, middle and high school students. The work of the best of these has been superb, worthy of publication. In Haslam’s Book Store here in St. Petersburg, Florida, I stumbled upon a used anthology called “The Best Teen Writing of 2015.” Inside I found the work of winners of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. The work covers several common genres. Here is some of the best nonfiction:

Catherine Gao, 16, San Jose, California:

“A week ago, I sat on a BART car in uncomfortable silence for forty-five minutes. Thirty other strangers sat around me, each diligently doing the exact same thing: nothing. Half stared vacantly at the walls of the car, stopping every few minutes to glance down at their phones. The other half snored gently with their faces smushed against the windows. I closed my eyes and tried to disappear into my seat.”

Maya Lew, 16, New Haven, Connecticut:

“The tornado left everything broken but the toolshed. The townspeople plucked slugs off the side-panels for days afterward, old wood peeling like rotten bananas. River water ripped past the edies of the stream, they fixed torn seams with mud and rocks (double knots, triple knots), pipes from broken undersinks. The sunflowers floated, facedown, river trout half-way to belly-up.”

Jack Tien-Dana, 16, Bronx, New York:

“The next day, the hospital transferred my mom to a New York hospital. My father rode with her in the ambulance, while my aunt, a semi-famous fashion editor and full-fledged diva, drove me home with my uncle and cousin. We were on the Westside Highway when she rear-ended a cab. I was holding a full canister of cheese puffs, which jounced in the air and landed all over me. She flew out of the car to excoriate the cabbie (note: she rear-ended him) and, during a lull in the ensuing fracas, she stuck her head in my window and hissed at a cheese-dusted me, ‘Don’t tell your mother this happened.'”

I have chosen three teen writers who were 16 years old, the same age as Greta Thunberg. I don’t know their backstory, but my guess is that they have had adults in their lives who encouraged them, from an early age, to perform the three main behaviors that mark a literate person: to read critically, write purposefully and speak about how meaning is created through reading and writing.

Greta Thunberg clearly has the same gifts, magnified by her ability as a young person to speak to large groups of adults when the stakes are very high. Let’s stipulate that a speech at the United Nations is a step up from nailing that college admissions essay.

So let’s see how she did, and what she did. (My commentary appears in parenthesis.)

Transcript: Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, addressed the U.N.’s Climate Action Summit in New York City on Monday.

My message is that we’ll be watching you.

(In syntax we talk about the “number” and “person” of pronouns. Each designation contributes to the voice of the speaker. In eight words, we get three of them. “My” indicates first person singular, showing that the author seizes ownership of these ideas. “We” is first-person plural, used collectively as in the language of labor union messages, but also “We the people.” She is not alone. Her last word is the second-person plural “you.” In most cases, this creates the illusion of discourse, the “I” and the “Thou.” But as the object of the verb “watching” it feels more ominous here. It’s not Big Brother who is watching. But Little Sister.)

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!

(Short sentences have the feeling of gospel truth. Here we get a series of them. She will not let her audience off the hook with a long flowing sentence. Each period is like a hammer pounded on the podium. The audience cannot see the exclamation mark at the end of this paragraph, but they can hear it. I found “How dare you!” uncomfortable to read and hear. I identified, guiltily, with the failed grownups in the audience. Her language is that of an angry parent or a stern school teacher scolding a child. That inversion of expectation defines her voice.)

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!

(Repetition — as opposed to redundancy — is purposeful, and among the most common rhetorical tools available for speakers. “That a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we’re free at last.” Greta Thunberg stabs us with another “How dare you.” Notice another strategy: Quintilian warned speakers not to let their best words and phrases get lost in the middle of sentences and paragraphs. When you can, put them at the end. Notice: empty words, lucky ones, suffering, dying, collapsing, fairy tales of eternal economic growth.)

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.

(Notice an ancient rhetorical technique at work here. I don’t have a name for it. But we all use it in our personal and professional lives. I might call it “saying it by saying you are not saying it.” As in, “Now I am not saying that professional athletes don’t deserve the money they make.” Well, yes I am. Remember Antony in Julius Caesar: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I’ve come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” Yeah, right! Here the author says, “… then you would be evil.” Then she takes it back, “And that I refuse to believe.” She delivers the sting, and takes it back, because who is inclined to agree with a person who calls them evil?)

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

Fifty percent 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 CO2 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 degrees global temperature rise — the best odds given by the (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) — the world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on January 1 st , 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 remained CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8 ½ years.

(Some people with Asperger’s are known to have advanced spatial reasoning skills, making them good at things like math, architecture and music. This played out in the novel and theater play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.” So it would not surprise me if the technical evidence here is accurate, something that could be mastered by a teen. I believe it, not because of any knowledge I bring to the reading, but because it has the ring of truth, and I assume it would have been vetted by experts. Let me stipulate, though, that while numbers can be used effectively in a speech [“Four score and seven years ago …”] they are best used sparingly. I remember that the Good Samaritan, in the parable of Jesus, gave the innkeeper “two denarii” — silver coins, a day’s wage — to take care of the fallen man.)

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.

(Wow. We are back to being scolded by a child, using the inversion that we are not mature enough. I hope she doesn’t ground me.)

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.

(As with other effective speeches, it opens strong, takes care of business in the middle, and closes with the greatest hope, or here, the strongest indictment. Look at the language: failing us, betrayal, 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.

(Notice the sentence length in the last two paragraphs: 4 words, 10, 9, 9, 5, 9, 10, 5, 10. All those periods are stop signs, slowing down the pace for dramatic effect.)

(Never has a thank you and its courtesy sounded in such friction with the message delivered.)

Roy Peter Clark is senior faculty emeritus at Poynter. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Comments are closed.

I’m an admirer of anyone who cares enough to trace the history of rhetoric back to the Romans. Just one note: The link in the story doesn’t go to the Thunberg speech you refer to. That will be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJsdgTPJpU

I’d settle for “She has a brilliant speechwriter.”

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Transcript: Greta Thunberg's Speech At The U.N. Climate Action Summit

Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, addressed the U.N.'s Climate Action Summit in New York City on Monday. Here's the full transcript of Thunberg's speech, beginning with her 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!

'This Is All Wrong,' Greta Thunberg Tells World Leaders At U.N. Climate Session

"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 degrees [Celsius], and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

"Fifty percent 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 CO2 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 degrees global temperature rise – the best odds given by the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] – the world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on Jan. 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 CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8 1/2 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.

"Thank you."

greta thunberg
climate change

Climate Change Essay

500+ words essay on climate change.

Climate change is a major global challenge today, and the world is becoming more vulnerable to this change. Climate change refers to the changes in Earth’s climate condition. It describes the changes in the atmosphere which have taken place over a period ranging from decades to millions of years. A recent report from the United Nations predicted that the average global temperature could increase by 6˚ Celsius at the end of the century. Climate change has an adverse effect on the environment and ecosystem. With the help of this essay, students will get to know the causes and effects of climate change and possible solutions. Also, they will be able to write essays on similar topics and can boost their writing skills.

What Causes Climate Change?

The Earth’s climate has always changed and evolved. Some of these changes have been due to natural causes such as volcanic eruptions, floods, forest fires etc., but quite a few of them are due to human activities. Human activities such as deforestation, burning fossil fuels, farming livestock etc., generate an enormous amount of greenhouse gases. This results in the greenhouse effect and global warming which are the major causes of climate change.

Effects of Climate Change

If the current situation of climate change continues in a similar manner, then it will impact all forms of life on the earth. The earth’s temperature will rise, the monsoon patterns will change, sea levels will rise, and storms, volcanic eruptions and natural disasters will occur frequently. The biological and ecological balance of the earth will get disturbed. The environment will get polluted and humans will not be able to get fresh air to breathe and fresh water to drink. Life on earth will come to an end.

Steps to be Taken to Reduce Climate Change

The Government of India has taken many measures to improve the dire situation of Climate Change. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is the nodal agency for climate change issues in India. It has initiated several climate-friendly measures, particularly in the area of renewable energy. India took several steps and policy initiatives to create awareness about climate change and help capacity building for adaptation measures. It has initiated a “Green India” programme under which various trees are planted to make the forest land more green and fertile.

We need to follow the path of sustainable development to effectively address the concerns of climate change. We need to minimise the use of fossil fuels, which is the major cause of global warming. We must adopt alternative sources of energy, such as hydropower, solar and wind energy to make a progressive transition to clean energy. Mahatma Gandhi said that “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not any man’s greed”. With this view, we must remodel our outlook and achieve the goal of sustainable development. By adopting clean technologies, equitable distribution of resources and addressing the issues of equity and justice, we can make our developmental process more harmonious with nature.

We hope students liked this essay on Climate Change and gathered useful information on this topic so that they can write essays in their own words. To get more study material related to the CBSE, ICSE, State Board and Competitive exams, keep visiting the BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions on climate change Essay

What are the reasons for climate change.

1. Deforestation 2. Excessive usage of fossil fuels 3. Water, Soil pollution 4. Plastic and other non-biodegradable waste 5. Wildlife and nature extinction

How can we save this climate change situation?

1. Avoid over usage of natural resources 2. Do not use or buy items made from animals 3. Avoid plastic usage and pollution

Are there any natural causes for climate change?

Yes, some of the natural causes for climate change are: 1. Solar variations 2. Volcanic eruption and tsunamis 3. Earth’s orbital changes

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Four Powerful Climate Change Speeches to Inspire You

To support the running costs of Moral Fibres, this post contains affiliate links. This means Moral Fibres may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to readers, on items purchased through these links.

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

Tree canopy with a blue text box that reads the climate change speeches to inspire 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!

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.

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.

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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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‘We are digging our own graves’: world leaders’ powerful words at Cop26

The sense of urgency was palpable on the opening day of the Glasgow climate summit

Alarm, anger and a few significant promises featured during speeches made by dozens of world leaders as crucial UN climate talks came to life in a cold and wet Glasgow on Monday.

The tone was set by Boris Johnson, who opened the Cop26 talks with a stark warning that “the anger and impatience of the world will be uncontainable” if the talks fail to get the world on track to avoid disastrous global heating of more than 1.5C.

Science Weekly - Cop26: the world leaders arrive

Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen $https://audio.guim.co.uk/2021/11/02-41179-gnl.sci.20211102.ms.cop_world_leaders.mp3

António Guterres, the UN secretary general, noted governments’ lack of progress in cutting planet-heating emissions.

There were some significant announcements, too, such as Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, promising that his country would get to net zero emissions by 2070 and Johnson unveiling new climate aid for vulnerable developing countries.

But overall, the tenor was of impatience and occasional frustration.

Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados

I ask to you: what must we say to our people, living on the frontline in the Caribbean, in Africa, in Latin America, in the Pacific, when both ambition and, regrettably, some of the needed faces at Glasgow, are not present? What excuse should we give for the failure? “When will leaders lead? Our people are watching, and our people are taking note. And are we really going to leave Scotland without the resolve and the ambition that is sorely needed to save lives and to save out planet? “Are we so blinded and hardened that we can no longer appreciate the cries of humanity?”

Wavel Ramkalawan, president of Seychelles

Fellow leaders, from Seychelles, our message is simple: we have to act immediately. Let the change be a real one, let the paradigm shift happen. May those who exploit without thinking of tomorrow stop. May we realise that in this battle to save our planet, we are in the same boat – big, small, rich or poor. The time to act is yesterday.”

Lazarus Chakwera, president of Malawi

The money pledged to the least developed nations by developed nations is not a donation, but a cleaning fee. Neither Africa in general, nor Malawi in particular, will take no for an answer. Not any more.”

Boris Johnson, UK prime minister

The worse it gets, the higher the price when we are eventually forced by catastrophe to act, because humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change. It’s one minute to midnight on that Doomsday Clock and we need to act now.”

Joe Biden, US president

There’s no more time to hang back or sit on the fence or argue amongst ourselves. This is a challenge of our collective lifetimes. The existential threat, threat to human existence as we know it, and every day we delay, the cost of inaction increases. So let this be the moment that we answer history’s call here in Glasgow.”

Narendra Modi, Indian prime minister

By 2070, India will achieve the target of net zero emissions … Today, the entire world acknowledges that India is the only big economy in the world that has delivered in both letter and spirit on its Paris commitments.”

António Guterres, UN secretary-general

Recent climate action announcements might give the impression that we are on track to turn things around. This is an illusion. “Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice: either we stop it, or it stops us. It’s time to say, ‘Enough … Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves.’”

David Attenborough, naturalist and TV presenter

If, working apart, we are a force powerful enough to destabilise our planet, surely, working together, we are powerful enough to save it. In my lifetime, I have witnessed a terrible decline. In yours, you could and should witness a wonderful recovery. That desperate hope, ladies and gentlemen, delegates, excellencies, is why the world is looking to you – and why you are here.”

Emmanuel Macron, French president

It is often those who can’t access the models of development that caused this climate change that are living through its first consequences. Small islands, vulnerable territories, indigenous people are the first victims of the consequences of climate disturbances.”

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission

I know that all of us here at Cop26 want to be on the right side of history. And this is why I call on all of us to do whatever it takes, now, to limit global warming to 1.5C. And we can do it. Because climate change is man-made, science tells us. So we can do something about it. It’s our opportunity to write history. Even more, it’s our duty to act now.”

George Weah, president of Liberia

Although we bear the brunt of the impact of climate change, we benefit the least from existing solutions and financial arrangements currently in place for tackling climate change. In order to address this imbalance, there needs to be a fundamental shift in the way we tackle mismatched climate investment.”

Climate crisis

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Environment
Climate change and energy
Climate change adaptation

Speech - Climate change: too true to be good

Speech by Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency Royal Society of Arts, 24 September 2018

Climate change speech by Sir James Bevan at the RSA

Introduction

This speech takes twenty minutes, provided I don’t get heckled. But for those of you who are in a rush, here’s the short version of what I’m going to say:

Climate change is the biggest threat we face.
If we don’t tackle it the consequences are grim.
We can tackle it and we are. The three most important things we can do are to stop the activities that cause it; enhance our resilience to its effects; and talk about it.

Climate change is real

Say “climate change” and see how most people react. I find it’s a bit like “sustainable development”: a phrase at which many people quietly glaze over and switch off. So here’s the first point: Don’t switch off. Climate change isn’t just words. It is a real Thing. And man-made climate change is a very scary real thing.

The rise in global temperature over the last several decades is a matter of public record. There is an overwhelming scientific consensus that it can only be explained by one thing: the rise in greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities.

Some people say that climate change is natural and we shouldn’t worry. The answer to that is that we have indeed had naturally-occurring climate change since the Earth was formed. But none of the natural causes of climate variation, from the Sun’s output, the tilt of the Earth, volcanic activity or emissions from rotting vegetation, can account for the warming we observe today. There is only one thing that can: the emissions from fossil fuels caused by human activities over the last two hundred years. The concentrations of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere have increased by nearly 30% since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

It’s not as bad as you think – it’s worse

Here’s another inconvenient truth. Not only is global warming happening, it may be speeding up. The 20 warmest years on record have all come since 1995. The five warmest years have all been in this decade, the 2010s. 2016 was the hottest year since records began.

And this year the UK had the joint hottest summer on record. It was extremely dry too – the driest across England since 1921. The Environment Agency’s hydrologists recorded exceptionally low river flows for five weeks in a row, reservoir stocks were at historic lows and soils in the North West were the driest on record.

The environment suffered badly: numerous species, habitats, birds, trees and aquatic life were affected by the hot conditions and high demand for water. The Environment Agency responded to a 330% increase in drought-related incidents as our teams acted to protect wildlife and rescue fish struggling due to low river flows and low oxygen. This kind of thing won’t happen every year. But it will happen more frequently, and it will happen worse. Most of us enjoyed this summer’s exceptional weather. But by 2040 it is likely there won’t be anything exceptional about summers like the one we have just had. The records will keep tumbling. Exceptional may be the new normal.

And just as the rate of temperature rise looks to be accelerating, so too does one of its main consequences: the rise in sea level. Over the last 20 years sea levels have risen at roughly twice the speed of the preceding 80 years.

It gets worse. While the international community has pledged to avoid a rise of more than 2°C in the average global temperature by 2100 compared with pre-industrial levels, many scientists think that the figure will be higher. The central scientific estimate now is that by 2100 global temperature will have risen by nearly twice the 2 degree figure - by around 3.5 °C.

Climate change has bad consequences

Second big point, and one that bears constant repetition: if we don’t tackle climate change, very bad things will happen.

“Global warming” is another of those deceptive phrases. It doesn’t sound that threatening. Indeed to cold Brits shivering on our chilly northern island it sounds rather appealing. Who wouldn’t want a bit more sun and the weather a few degrees warmer? But the phrase is misleading because it doesn’t identify what will actually happen as the globe warms. The answer is that:

The tropics will be hotter and drier.

The higher latitudes, where the UK sits, will be hotter and wetter.

In Britain we will have hotter summers. By 2040, we expect more than half of our summers to exceed 2003 temperatures.

We will have wetter winters, and extreme rainfall events will become even more extreme. This is already happening. In 2015’s Storm Desmond, a gauge at Honister Pass in Cumbria recorded 341mm of rain in 24 hours, a new record: that rain caused some of the worst flooding in living memory. Last year’s flash floods at the Cornish coastal village of Coverack were caused by an extreme rainfall event which set a new UK record for 3-hour rainfall intensity. Half a mile offshore the rainfall intensity was 25% higher. It was only a fortuitous accident of nature that it didn’t make landfall.

Sea levels will rise significantly, perhaps by up to a metre in places by 2100, as waters warm and take up more space and our glaciers and land-based ice sheets melt. Sea level rise is particularly scary, because while other climate change-driven effects like extreme flooding or drought can do terrible harm, recovery from them is possible. But there is no recovery from a rising sea: it takes land, communities, infrastructure and everything else away forever.

All of these changes in climate will have consequences. They will mean:

More frequent and more extreme flooding and coastal erosion, caused by those wetter winters, heavier rain, stronger storms and rising sea levels. That threatens all of us, because floods destroy: lives, livelihoods, communities.

More water shortages and higher drought risk, caused by the hotter drier summers and less predictable rainfall. That could do deep damage to our economy and our environment.

More frequent and more extreme fires and wildfires, such as we saw in the UK and around the world this summer, often with terrible human cost.

More air and water pollution, due to those longer, hotter summers. That will threaten the living world of plants and animals, our wider environment and our own health.

More damage to wildlife and the habitat on which it depends. In many cases that damage may be existential. If we continue to emit greenhouse gases at the same rate as today, then by 2050 one million species across the globe are likely to vanish.

We in this country are particularly exposed to these effects. The UK sits at a weather crossroads, with a big water mass to the west, a large land mass to the south and the jet stream running over the top. Our location means we will experience more of this extreme weather than some others.

So don’t get comfortable. If we allow climate change to continue unchecked, England’s green and pleasant land will be neither green nor pleasant. And if sea levels rise significantly, there won’t be much of our land left either . Example: Lincolnshire. Much of that beautiful county is flat and low-lying. Quite a lot of it is a tidal floodplain. It is already at significant flood risk. 43 people lost their lives there in the great 1953 flood when a huge storm surge brought the sea crashing through the coastal defences. That’s why the Environment Agency has spent hundreds of millions of pounds improving and maintaining Lincolnshire’s sea walls and other coastal defences. And it’s worked: in 2013 there was a bigger East Coast storm surge than the one sixty years previously – and nobody died.

But as sea levels rise and the storms get fiercer, how much higher can we build the walls around our coasts? There’s a limit to what’s practical and affordable. And even if we build ever higher and stronger defences along the coastline, there’s another problem: our rivers.

Climate change means more rain is likely to fall more quickly into our rivers. So they will fill up quicker, and will flood the surrounding land unless they can rapidly discharge all that rainwater into the sea. But the higher tides and sea levels which climate change will also bring mean that precisely when we need our rivers to be better at discharging water to the sea, they will be less and less able to do so, because they will be increasingly tide-locked.

So we could have three nightmare future scenarios: one where high seas overwhelm our sea defences, a second where the rivers flood the land behind the defences, and a third – the worst of all – where both of these things happen together.

The result, if we fail to address these future risks, will be that many low lying parts of the country will be either permanently waterlogged, or flooded with such frequency as to be no longer habitable. In my Lincolnshire example, Skegness would be lost, Lincoln would be at the edge of a new wet fenland landscape, and much of the rest of the county would revert to marsh.

Am I exaggerating? No. I might even be underplaying the risk. A report from an international team of climate researchers which hit the headlines this summer warned of a “hothouse Earth” – the risk that without intervention we could cross a threshold leading to runaway climate change, with sea level rise up to 60m. That wouldn’t just make Lincolnshire and Britain history: it would make most of the Earth uninhabitable. That is why climate change is simply the biggest issue there is. It is the biggest threat out there to our economy, environment, health, way of life, our country, our world, and our future.

But disaster is not inevitable: we can tackle this problem

That’s enough bad news. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be like this. We can tackle this problem, if we act now. Because while some of the effects of climate change - temperatures increasing, sea levels rising, wetter winters, more violent weather – will continue for the next 30-40 years no matter what we do now, we can affect what happens after that.

We know what we need to do. It’s summed up by another two words that tend to make people switch off but which also really matter: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation means addressing the causes of climate change, by reducing or stopping the human activities which are affecting the climate system, for example by cutting our emissions of greenhouse gases. Most of the UK’s emissions come from the way we produce and consume energy – from heating our buildings, driving our cars, manufacturing goods, watching our TVs or boiling our kettles. We can lower our emissions by becoming more energy efficient and switching to renewable or low-carbon fuels.

As a country we’ve made a good start on that. UK emissions are down 43% compared to 1990, while over the same period the economy has grown significantly. That’s really important: it shows that we can both tackle climate change and grow our economy. But most of these emission reductions have come from closing coal power stations and cleaning up heavy industry. That was the easy bit. It’s a lot harder to reduce emissions from transport, agriculture and buildings. That will require much greater use of renewable energy, and infrastructure to capture and store remaining carbon emissions. The quicker we can move ahead on all that the better.

Adaptation means making changes to prepare for, reduce and negate the effects of climate change, for example by building stronger sea defences to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities. Other things we can and should be doing now include reducing water usage by cutting leakage and extending domestic metering; avoiding any unnecessary development in flood plains or on fast-eroding coastlines; and designing infrastructure that will be resilient to the more extreme weather we know is coming. There’s more good news. There is now a pretty broad consensus – at least in this country - on the need to do these things. The government gets it.

You can see that in the 25 Year Environment Plan launched this year by the Prime Minister and Michael Gove, which commits the government to take all possible action to mitigate climate change, including by continuing to cut greenhouse gas emissions; to adapt to reduce the impact of climate change; and to ensure that all government policies and investment decisions take it into account.

You can see that in the National Adaptation Programme issued by Defra in July, which sets out the actions the government will take over the next five years to help the country adapt to climate change; and which recognises that while we should continue to aim to keep global temperature rise well below 2° C, our resilience will only be robust if we prepare for worse scenarios.

And you can see it in the government’s new National Planning Policy Framework, which is explicit that all new development plans should “take a proactive approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change, taking into account the long-term implications for flood risk, coastal change, water supply, biodiversity and landscapes, and the risk of overheating from rising temperatures”.

The independent experts get it. The National Infrastructure Commission has recommended a national standard of flood protection for all communities to be achieved by 2050, a concept which the Environment Agency supports; and major investment to enhance water supply and reduce demand in order to tackle the long term drought risk which climate change threatens. We support that too.

The Green Finance Taskforce, composed of leading experts in academia, finance and civil society, has identified ways to encourage capital to move towards greener and cleaner sectors in the UK; and rightly framed this not as a cost but as a huge opportunity for investment, in particular in those sectors which are the backbone of the economy such as housing, transport, retail, utilities and industry.

Business increasingly gets it. The insurance companies are pricing climate change into their policies and looking to help their customers become more resilient to its effects, not least because that can cut insurance payouts when things like flooding happen. The water companies, energy companies, retail sector and others see the hard-nosed business sense in investing now for resilience later. All businesses need to be able to sustain their operations in a climate changed world, and to have confidence that when extreme weather hits, they will be the first back up and running.

The NGOs get it. Many of them, not just the environmental NGOs, are recognising that climate change poses the biggest threat to the things they and their members want to achieve, and are rightly challenging the rest of us to go further and faster in tackling it.

And - I hope you will agree - the Environment Agency itself gets it.

As regulators, we work every day with industry and the energy sector to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We are working with local authorities, planners and developers to create better places, designed for the climate we now anticipate. We are working with the water companies to manage the short term consequences of drought, as we have been doing this summer, and to ensure that the country will have better water security in the long term: last week I launched a new collaborative initiative with the leaders of the water industry to do precisely that.

We are building new flood defences up and down the country, explicitly designed for climate resilience. We are thinking long term about those defences. We design them with the latest climate change predictions in mind. And we build extra strong foundations beneath many of them so we can raise them as sea level and river flows rise. And despite their long design lives, we are already working on a replacement for many of them.

The Thames Barrier, which protects 125 square kilometres of central London, millions of people, and £200 billion worth of assets, is designed to sustain that protection against a changing climate till around 2070. But we are already planning its successor. I like to think of projects like the next Thames Barrier as the modern version of the great age of cathedral building. We will develop the plans and lay the foundations, and future generations will lift the spire.

The Environment Agency’s philosophy is that we should aim to do better than just surviving a changing climate: our aspiration is to help the country thrive in it. We can do that by working with the grain of the natural environment.

Example: the Medmerry flood defence scheme on the Sussex Coast. Instead of building an unsightly wall to protect the local community from rising seas we knocked a large hole in the shoreline to let the sea in so as to create a large new area of coastal wetland. That wetland is the flood defence: it absorbs the high tides safely. But it is also a new and beautiful wildlife habitat, now run by the RSBP as a bird sanctuary. It’s a great example of how you can turn the threat of climate change into an opportunity to create a better place.

We in the Environment Agency are also trying to walk the walk ourselves. We are reducing the carbon footprint from our own day to day operations year on year. Our £3bn Pension Fund is a leader in green finance. We have embedded climate risk into our pension investment strategy for well over a decade and have delivered outperformance.

Together with the Church of England’s investing bodies we founded the Transition Pathway Initiative, with the Paris climate goals at its heart. The TPI assesses how companies are preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy and is supported by asset managers and owners with over £7 trillion of assets under management. And at Governor Brown’s Global Climate Action Summit earlier this month, it was announced that TPI’s insight will inform Climate Action 100+, a global investor initiative to engage with companies to drive climate action, supported by $31 trillion assets under management.

Perhaps more important still, the British public increasingly get it. More and more of the people I meet up and down the country tell me that they are seeing evidence of climate change happening in front of their eyes. Many of them then go on to say that all of us as individuals have a duty to what we can to tackle it.

Don’t underestimate the power of the people. We’ve seen an almost overnight change in behaviour in relation to plastics. We’re seeing something similar, if slower, in people’s attitude to water, with more and more of us taking care to use it wisely. It has become socially unacceptable to litter or to use throwaway plastic bags. It is increasingly socially unacceptable to waste water. The same thing can happen – and maybe is happening – with regard to behaviour which stokes climate change.

One last bit of good news: while it will cost a lot of money to respond successfully to climate change, we can afford it. Indeed, it’s the best investment we could possibly make. It would be much more expensive not to respond. And the economic benefits of mitigating and adapting to climate change – in terms of damage foregone, extra growth achieved through new investment and infrastructure, prosperity boosted through innovative technology - far outweigh the costs.

The scandal is not that climate change is made up. The scandal is that it’s not, and that while a lot is already being done to tackle it, we are still not doing all we could. Why is tackling changing climate not at the top of everyone’s agenda? Partly, no doubt, because most people have busy lives and other things to worry about. Partly because the effects of a changing climate tend to be invisible and incremental until they are suddenly catastrophic. And maybe too because of the words we use. Language matters. So here’s a final thought: if words like “climate change” and “global warming” have become a turn-off for most ordinary people, maybe we should change the words. Perhaps we should talk instead about what those things actually mean: killer weather, a world under water, and a mortgaged future.

Many people might not get out of bed to fight something that sounds vaguely technical and non-threatening called climate change. But pretty much all of us would do so to protect our loved ones, our homes and our livelihoods, and to build a better world. Conclusion: climate change is too true to be good. So let’s tell it like it is, let’s tackle it together, and let’s redouble our efforts. Over the last two hundred years humans have comprehensively demonstrated that they can change the climate – and we have changed it for the worse by doing the wrong things. Now let’s show we can change it for the better by doing the right things.

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February 1, 2023

The Right Words Are Crucial to Solving Climate Change

Speaking to people’s priorities can build the will needed to implement climate solutions

By Susan Joy Hassol

Changing the language of climate change.

michaelmjc/Getty Images (chalkboard); Scientific American (words and design)

C limate change is already disrupting the lives of billions of people. What was once considered a problem for the future is raging all around us right now. This reality has helped convince a majority of the public that we must act to limit the suffering. In an August 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center, 71 percent of Americans said they had experienced at least one heat wave, flood, drought or wildfire in the past year. Among those people, more than 80 percent said climate change had contributed. In another 2022 poll, 77 percent of Americans who said they had been affected by extreme weather in the past five years saw climate change as a crisis or major problem.

Yet the response is not meeting the urgency of the crisis. A transition to clean energy is underway, but it is happening too slowly to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The U.S. government finally took long-delayed action by passing the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, but much more progress is needed, and it is hampered by entrenched politics. The partisan divide largely stems from conservatives’ perception that climate change solutions will involve big government controlling people’s choices and imposing sacrifices. Research shows that Republicans’ skepticism about climate change is largely attributable to a conflict between ideological values and often discussed solutions, particularly government regulations. A 2019 study in Climatic Change found that political and ideological polarization on climate change is particularly acute in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries.

One thing we can all do to ease this gridlock is to alter the language and messages we use about climate change. The words we use and the stories we tell matter. Transforming the way we talk about climate change can engage people and build the political will needed to implement policies strong enough to confront the crisis with the urgency required.

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Words Matter

To inspire people, we need to tell a story not of sacrifice and deprivation but of opportunity and improvement in our lives, our health and our well-being—a story of humans flourishing in a post-fossil-fuel age .

Some of the language problems we face in presenting this story are inadvertent and innocent, such as how scientists use jargon and think the facts speak for themselves. Others are intentional and insidious, such as the well-funded disinformation campaign led by the fossil-fuel industry that is meant to confuse, obfuscate and mislead.

Jargon can be hard to understand, but even worse are familiar terms that in a scientific context have entirely different meanings. For example, people generally use “positive” to mean “good” and “negative” to mean “bad.” But climate scientists use “positive” to mean “increasing” and “negative” for “decreasing.” So a positive trend in temperature means it’s going up—not good in an era of global warming. Scientists also speak of negative emissions , which sounds like bad pollution but in fact refers to the removal of carbon dioxide from the air—a good thing! It would be clearer to call these efforts CO2 removal, uptake or drawdown.

Perceptions can be greatly influenced by the words we use. “Natural” commonly refers to things occurring in nature that are not influenced by humans. But many events we call natural disasters—such as torrential rains and more powerful hurricanes that lead to severe flooding or extreme heat and drought that exacerbate wildfires—are no longer entirely natural. By disrupting climate and erecting buildings in vulnerable locations, humans are creating unnatural disasters. The word “natural” can be exploited in other ways, too. In 2021 researchers at Yale University found that Americans associate natural gas with “clean” and methane gas with “pollution”—even though natural gas is almost entirely methane.

Credit: Susan Joy Hassol, styled by Scientific American

The language we use for climate solutions can exacerbate the cultural divide. Terms such as “regulate,” “restrict,” “cut,” “control” and “tax” are unpopular, especially among conservatives. Perhaps people would be more likely to support solutions described with words such as “innovation,” “entrepreneurship,” “ingenuity,” “market-based” and “competing in the global clean energy race.” The fact that the first significant U.S. climate policy is called the Inflation Reduction Act is another example of how word choice matters. The name itself helped to gain the crucial support of Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the swing vote. The name may also have made the legislation more appealing to the many Americans who worry about climate change but rank it below inflation and the economy on their list of priorities.

Changing other words can help inform people and redirect the climate conversation. Instead of referring to greenhouse gases, we can refer to “heat-trapping pollution.” That term reinforces the basic mechanism of human-caused climate change, and “pollution” has negative associations, which are appropriate in this context. “Climate change” has become pretty standard, but a better description of what we’re experiencing is “human-caused climate disruption.” Sadly, “climate crisis” and “ climate emergency ” are accurate, too.

In low-lying coastal areas, seawater increasingly fills the streets at high tide, even on days with no rain. The costs are enormous: cities such as Miami spend hundreds of millions of dollars on systems to pump the water out. Yet experts call this “nuisance flooding,” greatly understating its human and monetary impacts. It might more appropriately be referred to as “sunny-day” or “recurrent” flooding. Similarly, as sea level rises and stronger hurricanes hit, we are beginning to hear calls for “managed retreat” from the coasts. But that sounds too much like surrender. As military generals have been known to say, we never retreat; we just advance in a different direction. It would be more positive to call for “proactive relocation” to safer, higher ground.

Taking on the challenges

Word choice is part of the broader set of communication challenges we must face to build the political will needed to swiftly address the climate crisis. We can group the challenges into disinformation, misconceptions and the pigeonholing of climate change as an environmental issue. Let’s take disinformation first.

The fossil-fuel industry and those who do its bidding have executed a well-funded, long-running disinformation campaign that takes advantage of the confusion around climate language. The people behind this campaign know that scientists use “theory” to mean an idea that is very well established in science, but to the public, a theory is just a hunch. They also know that to the public, “uncertainty” is synonymous with “ignorance,” even though scientists use the term to refer to a range of possible results. So fossil-fuel advocates endlessly repeat: “Climate change is only a theory. There’s so much uncertainty.”

As the climate crisis has increasingly affected our daily lives, it has become more difficult to deny its reality. That’s why people guarding the status quo have changed tactics, shifting from denial of climate science to strategies such as deflection—for example, getting us to focus on our own personal carbon footprints rather than examining the huge role of big oil and gas companies in delaying climate action. They also sow doubt by promoting myths and lies about solutions—they’re too expensive, they’re unreliable. Donald Trump told a crowd in 2019 that if a “windmill” were erected anywhere near their house, their home value would drop 75 percent, and the noise would cause cancer.

One way to counter disinformation is to get ahead of it by “inoculating” the public—promoting accurate information and helping people recognize disinformation techniques. Researchers have determined that preemptive messages explaining disinformation techniques while highlighting correct information can be effective in preventing misunderstanding. One key fact to emphasize is that the cost of renewable energy has plummeted, making clean energy cheaper than dirty energy. The prices of solar power and batteries have fallen by about 90 percent in the past decade, and there have been steep declines in the cost of wind energy as well.

Good progress has also been made on managing variable energy sources such as solar and wind, as well as in storing the energy they produce. We’re not waiting for an energy miracle; we’ve already had one.

The second major challenge, often related to the first, involves widespread misconceptions about climate disruption and public perception. Research published in 2022 in Nature Communications showed that although 66 to 80 percent of Americans support climate change policies, they think only 37 to 43 percent of the population does; they believe the climate-concerned community is a minority, when in fact it’s a majority. The researchers also found that although supporters of policies to limit climate change outnumber opponents two to one, Americans falsely perceive the opposite to be true. This false social reality tends to limit how much people talk about the subject, and it decreases motivation and political pressure to pursue climate policies. One response is simply to talk about climate change more with family, friends, co-workers, and leaders in the public and private sectors. Each of us can be part of this solution.

There’s also a growing misconception that it’s too late to act—that global climate catastrophe is inevitable. This may result, in part, from the media’s focus on disasters rather than solutions, which can make many people feel a sense of hopelessness or fatalism. A 2021 study in the Lancet revealed that young people are especially vulnerable to these feelings, with 84 percent saying they’re worried and 75 percent saying they think the future is frightening. If people are convinced we’re doomed— that there’s nothing we can do—why would they bother trying? It is imperative that we clearly communicate that it is not too late to avoid the worst outcomes. We must act urgently because every delay means a hotter and costlier future. Every fraction of a degree matters, and every action matters. As climate activist Greta Thunberg of Sweden so aptly put it, “When we start to act, hope is everywhere.”

People who feel constructive hope (as opposed to passive hope, such as that “God will save us”) are more likely to act and support climate policies, according to a 2019 study by researchers at Yale and George Mason University. Raising feelings of hope involves boosting a sense of efficacy—that what we do as individuals and as a society can truly make a difference. Rather than promoting stories of doom and deprivation, we can tell stories that illustrate the many benefits we will reap from the clean energy transition and from protecting nature. We need to paint a picture of that better world—powered by renewable energy, with friendlier, more walkable cities—and show how and where the improvements are already unfolding. It’s psychologically important for people to know that we’re not just starting; we’re already on our way.

The third challenge is that climate disruption has for years been categorized as an environmental issue. A 2021 Gallup survey found that only 41 percent of Americans consider themselves environmentalists. And environmental issues, especially climate change, have become so politically polarized that some people are hostile to any discussion of them.

The reality is that everyone cares about something affected by the climate emergency. Are they people of faith? Climate disruption is damaging God’s creation and disproportionately hurting people who are “the least of these.” Do they like to fish? Climate change is warming up our rivers, reducing the habitat for cold-water species such as salmon and trout. Are they skiers? Warming is reducing winter recreation opportunities. Everyone has to eat, and climate change is taking a toll on some of our favorite things, such as coffee and chocolate, as well as important staple crops, including corn and wheat. Many people are suffering from rising summer heat and humidity, wildfire smoke, and other aspects of increasingly extreme weather. The next time you want to talk with someone about climate disruption, consider what they care about and use that as an entry point. As with most good communication, success depends on the ways we connect on values, build trust and find common ground.

If you know that someone’s group allegiance leads them to reject the notion of human-caused climate change, rather than banging your head against a locked front door, look for a side door. For example, almost everyone likes clean energy, and for good reason. It offers clean air and water, energy security, reduced costs, job creation, and more. So even without invoking climate change, there are many reasons to support deploying clean energy. A 2015 study in Nature Climate Change showed that across 24 countries, action on climate change was motivated by other benefits, notably economic development and healthier communities. A 2022 study in Nature Energy compared three ways of framing renewable energy’s benefits—cost savings, economic boost and climate change mitigation—and found that cost savings was the most effective frame across political groups. One ironic example: in 2017 the Kentucky Coal Museum covered its roof with 80 solar panels because the technology saved the organization money.

Making the changes necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate disruption will require sufficient social support before the world crosses too many dangerous climate thresholds. Research published in 2018 in Science suggests large-scale social changes require the active engagement of about 25 percent of the population. Surveys suggest that in the U.S. we are rapidly approaching that point on climate. Researchers at Yale and George Mason found that as of late 2021, one third of Americans were alarmed about the climate crisis, and most of them were willing to act.

Addressing climate communication challenges could help us build enough political will in time to blunt the worst climate change effects. People must grasp the urgency of the choice we face between a future with a little more warming and global catastrophe. And they need to recognize that the choices we make now will determine our fate.

Susan Joy Hassol is director of Climate Communication, a non profit science and outreach project. She is an award-winning climate change communicator, analyst and author who has been making complex issues accessible to policy makers and the public for more than 30 years.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 328 Issue 2

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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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This year is setting up to be a momentous year in the movement for climate action. Scroll through your newsfeed, scan the day's headlines, and chances are you'll see something about climate change.

This is good news. Largely because, as the latest IPCC report published in March made extremely clear, we are out of time for talking. We have to see urgent and widespread action on climate change right now — and that means global, systemic transformation.

But it can get overwhelming. Both in terms of eco-anxiety — an international study in 2021 revealed that 60% of young people were very worried about climate change — but also in terms of the sheer amount of information to know.

International climate policy isn’t exactly taught in school ( although many, such as activist Scarlett Westbrook, argue it should be ) and a barrage of media stories might have left you wondering what the difference is between your "net zero", your “NDCs”, and your “nature-based solutions.”

So to help, here’s a handy glossary of all the climate-related words and phrases you should know about.

Climate Change

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns within global or regional climate patterns . The main cause of climate change is burning fossil fuels — such as coal, oil, and gas — to produce energy and power transport.

In addition to other human activities , like cutting down forests and farming , this releases heat-trapping pollution (called greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere, warming the planet and destabilizing the climate.

Climate change is already having a devastating impact on people all around the world, particularly through extreme weather events like heatwaves, wildfires, cyclones, droughts, and floods. Climate change is also disproportionately impacting the world's poorest people and nations the most, despite these populations having contributed the least to climate change.

Climate Crisis

The climate crisis refers to the urgent need for immediate action to mitigate the impacts of climate change and address the causes of climate change, and prevent serious and permanent damage to the environment.

Global Warming

Global warming refers to a long-term warming of the Earth’s surface overall temperature . Though this warming trend has been going on for a long time , its pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to the burning of fossil fuels.

Human activity has played a huge role in the increase of our planet’s temperature. Burning fossil fuels leads to greenhouse gases, which cause what's known as the “greenhouse effect” in earth’s atmosphere — which locks heat into the earth's atmosphere and causes the average global temperature to rise.

Learn more about global warming and its causes and effects in our explainer here.

Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, natural gas, derived gas, crude oil, petroleum products, and non-renewable wastes . These fuels originate from dead plants and animals that existed millions of years ago , and can also be made by industrial processes from other fossil fuels.

When fossil fuels are burned they release harmful gases into the atmosphere and cause global warming (see above!). Fossil fuels currently supply around 80% of the world’s energy.

1.5 Degrees

Debates about climate policy often refer to the need to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. But where did this limit come from, and why?

It refers to how we are tracking the world’s temperature in comparison to pre-industrial temperatures. The world is already 1.2C degrees warmer , and we’re seeing changes in weather and the climate as a result.

The idea of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees comes from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , a UN body founded in 1988 to regularly assess all the available science on the changing global climate. Scientific predictions have been made about what the likely effect of incremental temperature rises would be — you can read about the differences between a 1.5, 2, and 3 degree rise here .

The Paris Agreement signed at COP21 in 2015 committed all 196 countries that signed it to endeavoring to keep global warming to below 2 degrees, and ideally no more than 1.5 degrees.

Loss & Damage

Loss and damage is a phrase you'll likely hear a lot, and it refers, to quote the UN Environment Program , "to the negative consequences that arise from the unavoidable risks of climate change" — things like, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, species extinction, and more. There's no internationally agreed definition for loss and damage, but it typically refers to the destructive impacts of climate change.

When capitalized, Loss and Damage is typically used when referring to international climate negotiations and the plans and policies that address loss and damage. Loss and Damage is incredibly important in addressing the injustice of climate change — with low-income and climate-vulnerable countries disproportionately experiencing the impacts of climate change and the mounting costs that result from loss and damage, despite having contributed the least to the causes of climate change.

Climate Adaptation

It’s vital that countries drastically cut carbon emissions to address climate change — but our climate is already changing and, as such, countries also need to adapt.

With sea levels already rising and extreme weather events increasing in frequency and intensity, it’s clear that to protect vulnerable communities from the worst impacts, a significant amount of adaptation is required.

Climate adaptation can take many forms. It can mean building flood defenses, but it can also mean strengthening food systems so that they can withstand shocks. It’s important that wealthy countries, that have done the most to cause climate change, step up and support lower-income countries with this process of adaptation. You can learn more about climate adaptation here .

Climate Finance

Dedicated and ring-fenced climate finance is what is needed to help fund efforts to address climate change — from cutting carbon emissions and shifting to clean energy, to adapting to climate change's impacts.

In short, billions of dollars are needed to address the increased poverty that climate change causes, to bolster systems to cope with its effects, and to support low- and middle-income countries to manage a just transition to greener economies.

It is especially important that funds are mobilized to help the poorest communities globally — those that did the least to cause the climate crisis but are bearing the brunt of the consequences.

At the COP15 climate conference in Copenhagen in 2009, high-income economies pledged to mobilize $100 billion annually to fund adaptation and mitigation projects by 2020. However that promised funding has yet to be delivered. You can take action and join the call on world leaders to deliver the funding .

Find out more here about climate finance here.

Nature-Based Solutions

Nature-based solutions are an important aspect of the multi-pronged approach to fighting climate change. They are any action that works to sustainably manage, restore, and protect natural ecosystems — which in turn help build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

These are solutions like restoring mangrove forests to help provide an effective natural barrier against coastal flooding, or massive tree-planting, restoring, and protection programs to help ensure the world’s forests can effectively absorb carbon.

Forests and land ecosystems are what is known as “carbon sinks" and help to reduce carbon in the atmosphere, so many scientists advocate for “ rewilding ” — letting natural ecosystems restore to their natural state — to help the world recover. Read more here about groups that are leading the way with nature-based solutions .

The goal of the climate action taken by governments and societies around the world is to reach “net zero.”

That’s the state where no more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are going into the atmosphere than can be taken out, and it means cutting emissions to as close to zero as possible.

Net zero is a simple goal that requires radical action to achieve. It will mean transitioning economies relying on fossil fuels for power towards renewable sources of energy instead.

A number of states — including the UK, the US, France, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan — have set goals to reach net zero emissions by 2050. To achieve this, decisive action needs to be taken right now to curb emissions. Find out more about the net zero goal and how we get there here , and about the UN-led campaign to cut emissions called the “Race to Zero” here .

Climate Justice

Climate justice refers to the intersectionality of the climate crisis as a social and political problem, as well as an environmental one .

It acknowledges that different communities feel the effects of the climate crisis differently — with the world's poorest and most marginalized people being the most heavily impacted by climate change — and that the responsibility for causing and addressing the crisis rests with some more than others .

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy refers to sources or processes that are constantly replenished . These sources of energy include solar energy , wind energy, geothermal energy , and hydroelectric power; and they are the types of energy sources the world needs to be shifting to to effectively tackle climate change.

Extreme Weather

Extreme weather refers to any weather that falls outside of normal patterns — and it's becoming increasingly frequent and intense as a result of climate change. Already in 2023 we've witnessed numerous extreme and record-breaking weather events , from a heatwave across Asia, to Cyclone Freddy in southern and eastern Africa, to drought in the Horn of Africa, and more.

Carbon Emissions

Carbon emissions means carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted when fossil fuels are burned in vehicles, buildings, industrial processes, and so on. CO2 is one of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) which is warming the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. There are however six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorocarbons, often referred to together as "carbon dioxide equivalent" (CO2e) .

Paris Climate Agreement

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change . It was adopted by 196 countries at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris on Dec. 12, 2015 and was implemented on Nov. 4, 2016.

It has a main goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global temperature increase to as close as possible to 1.5C; while other parts of the agreement focus on adaptation, education, financing, and how climate action can help achieve other UN Global Goals in the mission to end extreme poverty.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi . However, many species are being threatened with extinction due to human activities and climate change, putting the Earth’s magnificent biodiversity at risk .

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) are reserve assets that can be traded between countries in exchange for liquidity, or cash . SDRs aren't money in the classic sense because they can’t be used to buy things, only to exchange, but they do have value.

In a nutshell, SDRs are basically coupons that countries can exchange with other countries for cash when they need immediate financial assistance, for example to buy essential supplies like vaccines, and support their economies.

The world’s biggest climate summit is the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as a COP.

The COP happening later in 2023 is COP28 and it presents a historic opportunity for nations to agree to life-saving commitments to cut emissions, ensure climate finance, and curb run-away climate change. Taking place in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, world leaders, diplomats, NGOs, activists, and the media will be traveling to the city to take part.

The summit is convened every year by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is a UN agency focused on, you guessed it, the climate.

COP is short for “Conference of the Parties” and essentially means a “gathering of countries.” This year will be the 28th time the conference has happened, hence the name “COP28.”

Nationally Determined Contributions — or ‘NDCs’

Something that has been part of past COP summits discussion are “NDCs”, short for “Nationally Determined Contributions”. Under the Paris Agreement, countries have to submit their plans to cut emissions — their “contribution” to the global effort to tackle climate change.

These plans detail when the country expects to reach peak emissions, and when they will reach “net zero” and what that trajectory looks like. The NDCs are seen as a work in progress, and need to be updated every five years to reflect greater ambition, providing more targeted information about how each country plans to achieve net zero.

Currently the NDCs submitted do not go far enough to curb warming to 1.5 degrees. According to a 2022 report by the United Nations, the world is currently on track for a temperature rise between 2.4C and 2.6C by 2100. Head here for a more detailed look at NDCs.

Climate Refugees & Climate Visas

A climate refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their home because the effects of climate change has made it impossible for them to stay. Climate visas, meanwhile, refers to visas given to people fleeing natural disasters caused by climate change; providing a safe and legal route for climate refugees to enter a country.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that, between 2008 and 2016, an average of 21.5 million people were displaced annually by extreme weather events. It's estimated that, by 2050, the climate crisis could force more than a billion people from their homes.

A Few More Acronyms…

There are few acronyms that refer to groups of countries or organizations that you might hear referred to in conversations about the climate.

SIDS — Small Island Developing States, referring to a group of 58 low-lying island nations that are vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by climate change. They also face threats from heavy rains, increased cyclones, and ocean acidification. Leaders from SIDS nations have been clear about the need for wealthy countries to keep their promises on tackling climate change. G20 — The G20 is a forum of the 20 biggest economies in the world, made up of 19 nations and the European Union. Efforts to cut emissions must be led by these economies, which together account for between 75-80% of global trade and are home to around two-thirds of the global population. The 2023 G20 summit is to be held in New Delhi on Sept. 9 and 10. AGN — The African Group of Negotiators was established at the very first COP meeting in Berlin in 1995. It’s made up of representatives from an alliance of African states to speak together at climate change negotiations.

Now you know all about the key words and phrases relating to climate change, you can join us and Global Citizen around the world in taking action to address climate change. You can take action to support our Power Our Planet campaign, and urge world leaders, business leaders, the world's development banks, philanthropists, and more, to take the urgent and widespread action needed to fight climate change and its impacts. Get started by signing our petition , then find out more here about Power Our Planet and how you can take further action to help .

Global Citizen Explains

Defend the Planet

Climate Change: The Key Words and Phrases Everyone Should Know & Understand

May 5, 2023

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Speeches on Climate Action

From top leaders around the united nations, un climate change executive secretary’s remarks at chatham house.

“Every voice matters. Yours have never been more important. If you want bolder climate action, now is the time to make yours count.”

Secretary-General’s message on the International Day of Zero Waste

“On this Zero Waste Day, let’s pledge to end the destructive cycle of waste, once and for all.”

Secretary-General's message on Earth Hour

“Together, let’s turn off the lights and turn the world towards a brighter future for us all.”

Secretary-General’s message on World Meteorological Day

“All of us must unite at the frontlines of climate action – the theme of this year’s World Meteorological Day – and fight for a better future.”

Secretary-General's message on World Water Day

“Water stewardship can strengthen multilateralism and ties between communities, and build resilience to climate disasters.”

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary’s remarks at the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial

“On climate action - we’re now in the race to the top. Every country has a choice: plan for a better economy and fix finance for a better world or miss out on the opportunities others are reaping.”

Secretary-General's video message to the WMO “State of the Global Climate 2023” report launch

“Every fraction of a degree of global heating impacts the future of life on Earth.”

Secretary-General's video message for the 10th European Summit of Regions and Cities

“The fight against climate catastrophe will be lost or won in cities, which account for 70 per cent of carbon emissions.”

Secretary-General's message on World Wildlife Day

“We depend on nature. Let’s show that nature can depend on us – and act now to protect it."

Secretary-General's remarks at the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit

“All countries must commit to new economy-wide nationally determined contributions by 2025 that align with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 6th United Nations Environment Assembly

“You have shown before that you can unite and deliver – most recently with your historic decision to negotiate a plastic treaty. I urge you to do so again – and go further.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Human Rights Council

“Environmental justice and climate justice are rallying cries for ethical, equitable treatment, accountability and human rights.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Munich Security Conference: Growing the Pie: A Global Order that works for Everyone

“The next two years must see ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions – national climate plans – from every country, covering every sector.”

Secretary-General's video message to the International Energy Agency's 50th Anniversary Celebration

“Limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, ultimately depends on putting an end to fossil fuels.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council High-level Open Debate on the Impact of Climate Change and Food Insecurity on the Maintenance of Int'l Peace and Security

“Climate action is action for food security and action for peace.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science

“From climate change to health to artificial intelligence, the equal participation of women and girls in scientific discovery and innovation is the only way to ensure that science works for everyone.”

Secretary-General's briefing to the General Assembly on Priorities for 2024

“We must act this year to ensure that the transition is just for people and planet – and that it will be fast enough to prevent full-on climate catastrophe”

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary’s remarks at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan

“At UN Climate Change, we will not rest in pushing for the highest ambition – in accordance with the science – working side-by-side with all governments, businesses and community leaders.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Clean Energy

“Strong, cohesive societies can only be built on a foundation of advancing sustainable development, respecting human rights, and recognizing the rights of minorities, and standing up to all forms of discrimination.”

Secretary-General's press encounter at Third South Summit - G77 plus China

“This September, the United Nations will convene the Summit of the Future, with a focus on updating these institutions so that they align with today’s world and respond to today’s challenges.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Third South Summit - G77 Plus China

“I ask you to unite against climate catastrophe. The very existence of some countries in this room depends on limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Secretary-General's Special Address to the World Economic Forum

“The phaseout of fossil fuels is essential and inevitable. No amount of spin or scare tactics will change that. Let’s hope it doesn’t come too late.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Sustainable Regional Aviation Forum

“A carbon-free future is the only way forward. And the aviation sector can help deliver this future.”

Secretary-General's video message for New Year 2024 [available in EN & FR]

“2024 must be a year for rebuilding trust and restoring hope. We must come together across divides for shared solutions”

Secretary-General's statement at the closing of the UN Climate Change Conference COP28

“The era of fossil fuels must end – and it must end with justice and equity.”

UN Secretary-General's press encounter at COP28

“In our fractured and divided world, COP28 can show that multilateralism remains our best hope to tackle global challenges.”

Secretary-General's remarks to roundtable on report of High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero

“The report by my High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero, so well represented here, provides a blueprint for credible climate action by non-state actors that aligns with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Early Warnings for All event at COP28

"In a world defined by escalating climate injustices, early warning systems are the most basic tool for saving lives and securing livelihoods.”

Secretary-General's remarks at Global Climate Action High Level Event: Towards a Turning Point for Climate Action

“Let’s deliver the renewable, sustainable and equitable future people and planet deserve.”

Secretary-General's remarks to G77+China COP28 Leaders' Summit

“This COP can win with a double objective: maximum ambition on mitigation and maximum ambition in relation to climate justice, namely taking into full account the interests of developing countries.”

Secretary-General's remarks at High-Level meeting of the Landlocked Developing Countries

“Together, we can lay the foundation for a more resilient and sustainable future for over 500 million people of landlocked developing countries, leaving no one behind.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks to "Call of the Mountains: who saves us from the climate crisis?" organized by the Prime Minister of Nepal

“The mountains are issuing a distress call. COP28 must respond with a rescue plan”

UN Secretary-General's remarks to the Local Climate Action Summit

“Let’s stand as one — and work as one — to protect all communities from the climate crisis, and spur the renewable, sustainable and equitable future people and planet deserve.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks at opening of World Climate Action Summit

“We are miles from the goals of the Paris Agreement – and minutes to midnight for the 1.5-degree limit. But it is not too late. We can - you can - prevent planetary crash and burn.”

Secretary-General's video message to the WMO “State of the Global Climate 2023” Report launch

“We need leaders to fire the starting gun at COP28 on a race to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive.”

Secretary-General's press encounter on Climate (and situation in the Middle East)

“Leaders must not let the hopes of people around the world for a sustainable planet melt away. They must make COP28 count.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 18th Climate Change Conference of Youth

“I am proud to stand in solidarity with you ahead of this vital COP. Young people are the climate fighters our world needs.”

Secretary-General's message on World Sustainable Transport Day

“I am convinced humanity is up to the challenge of breaking our addiction to climate-killing fossil fuels, and creating resilient, efficient and low-carbon transportation systems grounded in innovative renewable energy sources.”

Secretary-General's video message from Antarctica

“So as leaders gather for COP28, my message is clear: Break this cycle. And act now to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, protect people from climate chaos, and end the fossil fuel age.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels

“By moving at jet speed, you can speed-up the clean energy revolution our world needs.”

Secretary-General's press conference on UNEP Emissions Gap Report Launch

“We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality. And we know how to get there – we have roadmaps from the International Energy Agency and the IPCC.”

Secretary-General's Message - UNFCCC NDC Synthesis Report Launch

“Governments must come together to line up the necessary finance, support and partnerships to increase ambition in their national climate plans and swiftly put those plans into action. And developed countries must rebuild trust by delivering on their finance commitments.”

Secretary-General's video message for the Paris Peace Forum - “Seeking common ground in a world of rivalry”

“Seeking common ground means cutting emissions and ensuring climate justice for those who did least to cause this crisis but are paying the highest price – starting at the COP28.”

Secretary-General's message on UNEP Production Gap Report Launch

“Leaders must act now to save humanity from the worst impacts of climate chaos, and profit from the extraordinary benefits of renewable energy.”

Secretary-General's video message to the “Confluence Of Conscience: Uniting Faith Leaders For Planetary Resurgence” Conference

“We need your moral voice and spiritual authority to summon the conscience of leaders, awaken their ambition, and inspire them to do what is needed at COP28 to save our one and only home.”

Secretary-General's message on World Tsunami Awareness Day

“On World Tsunami Awareness Day, let us commit to leaving no one behind when a tsunami strikes, and work together to secure a safe, prosperous future for all.”

Secretary-General's message for the Adaptation Gap Report Launch

“Today’s report shows the gap in adaptation funding is the highest ever. The world must take action to close the adaptation gap and deliver climate justice.”

Secretary-General's message on World Cities Day

“Cities are engines of economic growth and innovation that hold the key to achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the opening of the Pre-COP28 [as prepared for delivery]

“The solutions are in the hands of us all. What we need is the political will, finance and courage to roll them out at the pace, and at the scale this crisis demands.”

Secretary-General’s video message on Glaciers from the Mount Everest Region

“We must act now to protect people on the frontline and to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, to avert the worst of climate chaos.”

Secretary-General’s remarks at the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation

“We can turn the infrastructure emergency into an infrastructure opportunity, supercharge the implementation of the sustainable development goals, and deliver hope and progress for billions of people and the planet we share.”

Secretary-General's video message to the UN World Tourism Organisation General Assembly

“The climate crisis is threatening many tourist destinations and the very survival of communities around the world.”

Secretary-General's message on World Food Day

“The sustainable management of water for agriculture and food production is essential to end hunger, achieve the SDGs, and preserve water for future generations.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

“Countries must work to break the cycle of poverty and disaster by honouring the Paris Agreement, striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.”

Secretary-General's Message for World Habitat Day

“On this World Habitat Day, let us pledge to build inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable human settlements for all people, everywhere.”

Secretary-General's video message to the International Climate and Energy Summit

“The Climate Ambition Summit I hosted in New York last month indicated a collective way forward. And it showed that action to meet the 1.5 degree limit is not a dream. It is practical and it is possible.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Leaders' Meeting

“With global action for climate justice and financial justice, we can create the change you need. The United Nations is with you, every step of the way.”

Secretary-General's Closing Remarks at the Climate Ambition Summit

“This started as the Climate Ambition Summit and I believe it ends as the Climate Hope Summit.”

Secretary-General's opening remarks at the Climate Ambition Summit

“We can still limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees. We can still build a world of clear air, green jobs, and affordable clean power for all.”

Secretary-General's address to the General Assembly

“One Summit will not change the world. But today can be a powerful moment to generate momentum”

Secretary-General's remarks to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

“We must end the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Opening of the SDG Action Weekend

“The SDGs are not about checking boxes. They’re about the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people and the health of our natural environment.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the G77 & China Summit

“We need action now. We need action today.”

Secretary-General's Press Conference - prior to the 78th session of the UN General Assembly

“My appeal to world leaders will be clear: This is not a time for posturing or positioning. This is not a time for indifference or indecision. This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions.”

Secretary-General's video message to the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms

“Together, we can help to calm the storms, and build a safer, healthier, more sustainable world for us all.”

Secretary-General's press conference at G20

“I have come to the G20 with a simple but urgent appeal: we cannot go on like this. We must come together and act together for the common good. ”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies

“Our air is a common good and a common responsibility. Let’s work together to clean it up, protect our health, and leave a healthy planet for generations to come.”

Secretary-General's message on the Hottest Summer on Record

“Surging temperatures demand a surge in action. Leaders must turn up the heat now for climate solutions.”

Secretary-General's remarks at African Climate Summit

“Renewable energy could be the African miracle, but we must make it happen.”

Secretary-General's video message to the African Youth Climate Assembly

“The passion and determination of young people around the world is responsible for much of the climate action that we have seen. You are what climate leadership looks like.”

Secretary-General's message on International Youth Day

“From innovative sustainable technologies and renewable energy, to revolutions in transportation systems and industrial activity, young people must be equipped with skills and knowledge to shape a cleaner, greener, more climate resilient future.”

Secretary-General's press conference - on climate

“We must turn a year of burning heat into a year of burning ambition. And accelerate climate action – now.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks to the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment

“We need food systems that can help end the senseless war on our planet. Food systems transformation is fundamental to reducing carbon emissions and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ remarks at the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council: Adverse impact of climate change on the full realization of the right to food

“Addressing climate change is a human rights issue. And the world demands action, now.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 80th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee

“This meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee is a chance to steer us towards a clean, prosperous future for the industry – and a safer future for humanity.”

Secretary-General's remarks at Sciences Po University

“Sound the alarm. Stand up for each other and our planet, and human rights.”

Secretary-General remarks at the Paris Summit on a New Global Financing Pact

“I have proposed an SDG Stimulus of $500 billion US dollars per year for investments in sustainable development and climate action.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Intergov. Conference on an INT'L Legally Binding Instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

“By acting to counter threats to our planet that go beyond national boundaries, you are demonstrating that global threats deserve global action.”

Secretary-General's press conference - on Climate

“I call on all fossil fuel companies to present credible, comprehensive and detailed new transition plans – fully in line with all the recommendations of my High-level Expert Group on net zero pledges.”

Secretary-General's opening remarks at press briefing on Policy Brief on Information Integrity on Digital Platforms

“The proliferation of hate and lies in the digital space is causing grave global harm – now. It is fueling conflict, death and destruction – now. It is threatening democracy and human rights – now. It is undermining public health and climate action – now.”

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the Member States Briefing on the Climate Ambition Summit [as prepared for delivery]

“We hope and expect that your leaders, the private sector, and civil society organizations, will come to the Summit with credible and ambitious actions and commitments.”

Secretary-General's message on World Oceans Day 2023

“Human-induced climate change is heating our planet, disrupting weather patterns and ocean currents, and altering marine ecosystems and the species living there.”

Secretary-General's message on World Environment Day

“Plastic is made from fossil fuels – the more plastic we produce, the more fossil fuel we burn, and the worse we make the climate crisis. But we have solutions.”

Secretary-General's video message to the UN HABITAT Assembly

“Multilateralism must support cities to take action on climate, advance access to affordable housing, and deliver the local initiatives needed to make the SDGs a reality.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day for Biological Diversity

“Last year’s agreement on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework marked an important step – but now is the time to move from agreement to action.”

Secretary-General’s video message to the G7 Summit

“Climate action is working – but we are clearly off track. The Acceleration Agenda I proposed aims to make up for lost time.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Austrian World Summit

“On climate, we have all the tools we need to get the job done. But if we waste time, we will be out of time.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 8th Wildland Fire Conference

“But by working together, we can build a safer, more sustainable, and more resilient world for all."

Secretary-General's video message to the Petersberg Climate Dialogue

“We must act on science, facts and truth."

Secretary-General's remarks at the TIME CO2 Earth Awards

“People power is renewable energy that can move the dial."

Secretary-General's remarks to launch the Special Edition of the Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report

"The agreements reached in 2015 in New York, Addis and Paris stand for peace and prosperity, people and planet. That promise is now in peril."

Secretary-General's message on International Mother Earth Day

“This Earth Day, I urge people everywhere to raise your voices – in your schools, workplaces and faith communities, and on social media platforms – and demand leaders make peace with nature."

Secretary-General's video message to the Major Economies Forum

“The science is clear: new fossil fuel projects are entirely incompatible with 1.5 degrees."

Secretary-General's remarks at Opening Ceremony of the 22nd Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

"Indigenous Peoples hold many of the solutions to the climate crisis and are guardians of the world’s biodiversity… We have so much to learn from their wisdom, knowledge, leadership, experience, and example."

Secretary-General's remarks to the General Assembly on the request of an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change

“The climate crisis can only be overcome through cooperation – between peoples, cultures, nations, generations."

Secretary-General's video message to the Economist Impact's 8th Annual Sustainability Week

“We have never been better equipped to solve the climate challenge – but we must move into high gear now."

Secretary-General's remarks at the United Nations Water Conference

“Now is the moment for game-changing commitments to bring the Water Action Agenda to life."

Secretary-General's video message for press conference to launch the Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

“We have never been better equipped to solve the climate challenge – but we must move into warp speed climate action now."

Secretary-General's video message to the 58th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

“The facts are not in question. But our actions are."

UN Secretary-General's remarks to the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council

“Fossil fuel producers and their financiers must understand one simple truth: pursuing mega-profits when so many people are losing their lives and rights, now and in the future, is totally unacceptable."

ASG Hart’s Remarks to the Global Engagement Summit

“We must act now. The time for excuses, delayed action and incrementalism is over."

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks to the Oslo Energy Forum [as prepared for delivery]

“Above all, we must focus on two urgent outcomes: cutting emissions and achieving climate justice."

Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council Debate on "Sea-level Rise: Implications for International Peace and Security"

“Sea-level rise is not only a threat in itself. It is a threat-multiplier."

Secretary-General's briefing to the General Assembly on Priorities for 2023

“We need a renewables revolution, not a self-destructive fossil fuel resurgence."

Secretary-General's remarks at the World Economic Forum

“Today, fossil fuel producers and their enablers are still racing to expand production, knowing full well that this business model is inconsistent with human survival."

Secretary-General's video message to the 13th session of the IRENA Assembly: “World Energy Transition – The Global Stocktake”

“If we are to avert climate catastrophe, renewables are the only credible path forward."

Secretary-General's remarks at the International Conference on a Climate Resilient Pakistan

“Words are not enough. Without action, climate catastrophe is coming for all of us."

Secretary-General's remarks at End-of-Year Press Conference

“The global emissions gap is growing. The 1.5-degree goal is gasping for breath. National climate plans are falling woefully short. And yet, we are not retreating. We are fighting back."

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the High-Level Segment of COP-15

“Together we can protect the web of life that makes our planet unique — and ensure that humanity prospers in harmony with nature."

Secretary-General's opening remarks at Press Stakeout at COP15 Biodiversity Conference in Montreal

“Climate action and protection of biodiversity are two sides of the same coin."

Secretary-General's remarks at the UN Biodiversity Conference — COP15

“Together, let’s adopt and deliver an ambitious framework — a peace pact with nature — and pass on a better, greener, bluer and more sustainable world to our children."

Secretary-General's statement at the conclusion of COP27

“Together, let’s not relent in the fight for climate justice and climate ambition. We can and must win this battle for our lives."

Secretary-General's remarks at COP27 stakeout

“The world is watching and has a simple message to all of us: stand and deliver. Deliver the kind of meaningful climate action that people and planet so desperately need.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the G20 session on food and energy crises [as delivered]

“There is no way we can defeat climate change without a Climate Solidarity Pact between developed countries and large emerging economies. […] The Just Energy Transition Partnerships are an important first step.”

Opening remarks of the Secretary-General at press conference at G20 Summit

“The goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees is slipping away. We are dangerously close to tipping points at which climate chaos could become irreversible. Science tells us that global heating beyond that limit poses an existential threat to all life on earth. But global emissions, and temperatures, continue to rise.”

Secretary-General's remarks at launch of Al Gore's Climate TRACE initiative

“We have huge emissions gaps, finance gaps, adaptation gaps. But those gaps cannot be effectively addressed without plugging the data gaps. After all, it is impossible to effectively manage and control what we cannot measure.”

Secretary-General's remarks at launch of report of High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments [as delivered]

“Calling the new report of his independent Net-zero Expert Group on Emissions Commitments “a how-to guide to ensure credible, accountable net-zero pledges,” the Secretary-General today stressed that “using bogus ‘net-zero’ pledges to cover up massive fossil fuel expansion is reprehensible.”

Secretary-General's remarks at joint press encounter with Prime Minister of Pakistan

“There are moments in our life that become unforgettable and that mark us deeply. My last visit to Pakistan was one of these moments. To see an area flooded that is three times the size of my country, Portugal. To see the loss of life, the loss of crops, the loss of livelihoods.”

Secretary-General’s remarks at the launch of early warning for all executive action plan

“Universal early warning coverage can save lives and deliver huge financial benefits. Just 24 hours’ notice of an impending hazardous event can cut damage by 30 per cent. And yet, around the world, vulnerable communities have no way of knowing that hazardous weather is on its way.”

Secretary-General's remarks to High-Level opening of COP27

“The science is clear: any hope of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees means achieving global net zero emissions by 2050.”

Secretary-General’s message at the launch of the Provisional State of the Global Climate 2022

“As COP27 gets underway, our planet is sending a distress signal. The latest State of the Global Climate report is a chronicle of climate chaos.”

Secretary-General’s message at the launch of UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report

“Today’s UNEP Adaptation Gap report makes clear that the world is failing to protect people from the here-and-now impacts of the climate crisis.”

Secretary-General's video message on the Release of the United Nations Environment Programme Emissions Gap Report

"Commitments to net zero are worth zero without the plans, policies and actions to back it up. Our world cannot afford any more greenwashing, fake movers or late movers."

Message on lancet countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change

"The science is clear: massive, common-sense investments in renewable energy and climate resilience will secure a healthier, safer life for people in every country."

"People need adequate warning to prepare for extreme weather events. That is why I am calling for universal early warning coverage in the next five years. Early warning systems – and the ability to act on them -- are proven lifesavers."

Secretary-General letter to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors

“The COVID-19 pandemic, impacts of the war in Ukraine seen in the rising cost of living and tightening financial conditions and unsustainable debt burdens, along with the escalating climate emergency, are wreaking havoc on economies across the globe.”

Secretary-General's remarks at press encounter on Pre-Cop27

"Starting today, government representatives are meeting in Kinshasa for the critical pre-COP that will set the stage. The work ahead is immense. As immense as the climate impacts we are seeing around the world."

Secretary-General's message on World Habitat Day

"On World Habitat Day, let us pledge to live up to our shared responsibility to one another."

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at pre-COP27 discussions

"We need progress at COP27. Progress that shows that leaders fully comprehend the scale of the emergency we face and the value of COP, as a space where world leaders come together to solve problems and take responsibility."

Secretary-General's video message to Countdown to COP15: Leaders Event for a Nature-Positive World

"Today’s suicidal war on nature will have devastating consequences for us all. It is fueling the climate crisis, driving species to extinction, and destroying ecosystems. It is making growing areas of our planet inhospitable, driving conflict and pandemics, and jeopardizing our Sustainable Development Goals."

UN Secretary-General's Address to the General Assembly [Trilingual]

"Polluters must pay. Today, I am calling on all developed economies to tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies. Those funds should be re-directed in two ways: to countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis; and to people struggling with rising food and energy prices."

UN Secretary-General’s message at launch of the United in Science Report

"This year’s United in Science report shows climate impacts heading into uncharted territories of destruction. Yet each year we double-down on this fossil fuel addiction, even as the symptoms get rapidly worse."

Time to make good on adaptation promises

“Now is the time for solidarity and keeping the promise to humankind while protecting our planet,” said Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed at the Africa Adaptation Finance Forum in the lead-up to COP27, calling on developed countries to step up funding for the most vulnerable countries to adapt to the worsening climate impacts.

UN Secretary-General remarks at One Billion Tree campaign planting event

"My generation declared war on nature - with climate change with the loss of biodiversity, with pollution. Nature is striking back. Striking back with storms, with desertification with floods, with disasters that are making life very difficult for many people around the world and causing many victims."

UN Secretary-General’s remarks to the press in Japan

"We need solidarity to combat the climate crisis. Japan itself is seeing the consequences of our exploitation of fossil fuels, with an unusual stretch of extreme heat earlier this year, followed by torrential rain."

UN Secretary-General launches the Global Crisis Response Group’s latest brief on the global energy crisis

"I urge people everywhere to send a clear message to the fossil fuel industry and their financiers that this grotesque greed is punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people, while destroying our only common home, the planet."

Secretary-General's video message to the Petersberg Dialogue

“This has to be the decade of decisive climate action. That means trust, multilateralism and collaboration. We have a choice. Collective action or collective suicide. It is in our hands.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the opening of the 2022 High-level Segment of ECOSOC, Ministerial Segment of High-Level Political Forum

“Ending the global addiction to fossil fuels through a renewable energy revolution is priority number one.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks at the 43rd Regular Meeting of the CARICOM Conference

“The Caribbean is ground zero for the global climate emergency.”

UN Secretary-General's opening remarks to United Nations Ocean Conference

“Sustainable ocean management could help the ocean produce as much as six times more food and generate 40 times more renewable energy than it currently does.”

UN Secretary-General's virtual remarks to Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate

“Renewables not only fight the climate crisis, they support energy security. The time for hedging bets has ended. The world has gambled on fossil fuels and lost.”

UN Secretary-General’s video message to the 6th Austrian World Summit

“New funding for fossil fuel exploration and production infrastructure is delusional. I repeat my call for G20 governments to dismantle coal infrastructure, with a full phase-out by 2030 for OECD countries and 2040 for all others.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Stockholm+50 international meeting

“Let us recommit – in words and deeds – to the spirit of responsibility enshrined in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration.”

Remarks of Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action, Selwin Hart, to the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit

“With just six months until COP27 in Egypt, the world is way off track to meet our collective goals on mitigation, finance and adaptation. We have less than a decade to reverse course.”

“Let us make sure our leaders bring the ambition and action needed to address our triple planetary emergency. Because we have only one Mother Earth. We must do everything we can to protect her.”

Secretary-General's video message on the launch of the third IPCC report

“Demand that renewable energy is introduced now – at speed and at scale. Demand an end to coal-fired power. Demand an end to all fossil fuel subsidies.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the launch of the the High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities

“If we don’t see significant and sustained emissions reductions this decade, the window of opportunity to keep 1.5 alive will be closed – and closed forever.”

Secretary-General's message on World Meteorological Day

“Today I announce the United Nations will spearhead new action to ensure every person on Earth is protected by early warning systems within five years.”

“On this World Water Day, let us commit to intensifying collaboration among sectors and across borders so we can sustainably balance the needs of people and nature and harness groundwater for current and future generations.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Forests

“On this International Day of Forests, let us recommit to healthy forests for healthier livelihoods.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Economist Sustainability Summit

“Instead of hitting the brakes on the decarbonization of the global economy, now is the time to put the pedal to the metal towards a renewable energy future.”

“On this World Wildlife Day let us commit to preserving our invaluable and irreplaceable wildlife for the benefit and delight of current and future generations.”

Secretary-General's video message to UNEP@50: Special Session of the UN Environment Assembly

“UNEP's science, policy work, coordination and advocacy has helped to right environmental wrongs around the world and raise awareness of the importance of the environmental dimension of sustainable development.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Press Conference Launch of IPCC Report

“Every fraction of a degree matters. Every voice can make a difference. And every second counts.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Club de Lisboa conference: "Energizing the World while preserving the planet"

“Every country must strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions until they collectively deliver the 45 per cent emissions reduction needed by 2030.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the General Assembly on his Priorities for 2022

“The battle to keep the 1.5-degree goal alive will be won or lost in this decade.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the World Economic Forum [as delivered]

“Turning this ship around will take immense willpower and ingenuity from governments and businesses alike, in every major-emitting nation.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Twelfth Session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

“By investing in a renewable energy future, we can support pandemic recovery and build resilient societies and sustainable and inclusive economies.”

Closing remarks by Collen Kelapile, President of ECOSOC, at the briefing on the outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26)

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers a roadmap to pursue climate action and sustainable development in an integrated, inclusive and resilient manner.”

Opening remarks by Collen Kelapile, President of ECOSOC, at the briefing on the outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26)

“The Glasgow Climate Pact to keep global warming to 1.5C and the other important commitments are a sign of progress.”

Secretary-General's remarks at Security Council debate on Security in the Context of Terrorism and Climate Change

“Climate impacts compound conflicts and exacerbate fragility.”

Secretary-General's statement on the conclusion of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26

“Success or failure is not an act of nature. It’s in our hands.”

Patricia Espinosa: COP26 Reaches Consensus on Key Actions to Address Climate Change

“For every announcement made, we look forward to both firm plans and the fine print.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Global Climate Action High-Level Event - as delivered

“Only together can we keep 1.5 degrees within reach and the equitable and resilient world we need.”

Secretary-General's video message for the Caring for Climate High-Level Meeting

“Private sector finance must be aligned with a credible net-zero, resilient and sustainable development pathway.”

Delivered remarks of Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action, Selwin Hart, to Powering the World Past Coal event at COP26

“We now need all G20 countries to commit to phase-out coal based on the science. OECD countries by 2030, and globally by 2040.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Climate Vulnerable Forum Leaders Dialogue [as delivered]

“Every country and region must commit to net zero emissions and pursue concrete and credible near-term targets.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the World Leaders Summit - COP 26 [as delivered]

“We must listen — and we must act — and we must choose wisely.”

Secretary-General's video message to the 16th Conference of Youth (COY) of UNFCCC COP26

“I will continue to call on every country to ensure young people have a seat at the climate decision making table.”

Opening remarks at the launch of the Emissions Gap 2021 Report press conference

“The time for closing the leadership gap must begin in Glasgow.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the High-Level Meeting on Delivering Climate Action - for People, Planet & Prosperity

“We need decarbonization now, across every sector in every country.”

Deputy Secretary-General remarks at the Middle East Green Initiative Summit 2021

“We need to urgently peak, reduce, and stabilize global green-house gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050.”

UN Secretary-General's video remarks to World Bank/IMF Event on Making Climate Action Count

“As COP26 approaches, it is essential for all humanity that we fulfil the promise of the Paris Agreement.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference [as delivered]

“We must act together, smartly, and quickly, to make the next nine years count.”

Secretary-General's video message to Leaders Summit of the UN Biodiversity Conference

“Ecosystem collapse could cost almost three trillion US dollars annually by 2030.”

Secretary-General's message on World Habitat Day 2021

“On World Habitat Day, let us work together to harness the transformative potential of sustainable urban action for the benefit of our planet and all people.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the UNCTAD 15 Opening Ceremony

“We need to turn this around with a bold, sustainable and inclusive global recovery.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Pre-COP26

“It is essential for all humanity that we fulfil the promise of the Paris Agreement.”

Secretary-General’s Video Message to Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition (Pre-COP Youth Event)

“We need young people everywhere to keep raising your voices.”

Opening remarks to High-level Dialogue on Energy

“Investing in clean, affordable energy for all will improve the well-being of billions of people.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Food Systems Summit

“We must build a world where healthy and nutritious food is available and affordable for everyone, everywhere.”

Secretary-General’s remarks to the Security Council High-level Open Debate on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Climate and Security

“Much bolder climate action is needed ahead of COP 26 – with G20 nations in the lead – to maintain international peace and security.”

Statement by the Secretary-General on the announcements by the United States and China on climate action

“All countries must bring their highest level of ambition to Glasgow if we are to keep the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Agreement within reach.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the media following the Informal Leaders Roundtable on Climate Action

“Governments must shift subsidies away from fossil fuels and progressively phase out coal use.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate [as delivered]

“We need more ambition on finance, adaptation and mitigation.”

Statement by the Secretary-General on the report by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

“The fight against climate change will only succeed if everyone comes together to promote more ambition, more cooperation and more credibility.”

Secretary-General's message on the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

“The Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment show us that by acting together, anything is possible.”

Secretary-General's video message to the media on the launch of United in Science Climate Report

“We need all countries to present more ambitious and achievable Nationally Determined Contributions.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the High-Level Dialogue of the Americas on Climate Action

“We need a breakthrough on adaptation and resilience.”

Deputy Secretary-General's video message for the High-Level Dialogue “Adaptation Acceleration Imperative for COP26” - as convened by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA)

“The IPCC findings provide irrefutable evidence that billions of lives are at risk unless we rapidly cut emissions.”

Secretary-General's statement on the IPCC Working Group 1 Report on the Physical Science Basis of the Sixth Assessment

“As today’s report makes clear, there is no time for delay and no room for excuses.”

Statement by the Secretary-General on the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Environment, Climate and Energy

“With less than 100 days left before COP 26, I urge all G20 and other leaders to commit to net zero by mid-century, present more ambitious 2030 national climate plans and deliver on concrete policies and actions aligned with a net zero future.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Third G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors

“The G20 must set ambitious, clear and credible climate policies.”

Secretary-General's video remarks at launch of the First Hydromet Gap Report

“It presents the challenges of the complex global and local undertaking required for effective weather and climate forecast services and it proposes priority solutions to scale up hydromet development.”

Secretary-General's video message to the First Climate Vulnerable Finance Summit

“Developing countries need reassurance that their ambition will be met with much-needed financial and technical support.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Austria World Summit

“All plans and initiatives must be ambitious, credible and verifiable.”

Secretary-General's virtual Press Conference at the G7 Summit

“In the developing world, people are already suffering and need support to build resilience.”

Secretary-General's closing remarks to Insurance Development Forum

“Investments should not be contributing to climate pollution but should be directed towards climate solutions.”

“The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a global call to action. Everyone can contribute.”

Secretary-General's video remarks to Clean Energy Ministerial meeting

“This decade must also be when renewable energy overtakes fossil fuels.”

Secretary-General's video message to the Partnering for Green Growth Summit

“Tackling climate change head-on will help protect the most vulnerable people from the next crisis while sustaining a job-rich recovery from the pandemic.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Global Roundtable on Transforming Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development [as delivered]

“All public and private finance in the extractives sector should be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.”

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at G7 Climate and Environment Ministerial Meeting [as delivered]

“The G7 holds great sway to ensure that 2021 is a pivotal year for people and planet.”

Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the "Petersberg Climate Dialogue in New York" Event

“We have six months to deliver concrete results at COP26 and find a balanced and ambitious package on mitigation, adaptation and finance.”

Secretary-General's remarks at 2021 Petersberg Climate Dialogue [as delivered]

“We have six months until COP26. We must make them count.”

Secretary-General's statement at the Conclusion of the Opening Session of the Leaders Summit on Climate

“I welcome the announcement of new and enhanced nationally determined contributions.”

Secretary-General's video message on International Mother Earth Day 2021

“Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is a chance to set the world on a cleaner, greener, more sustainable path.”

Opening remarks at press conference to launch the "State of the Global Climate in 2020 Report"

“We need radical changes from all financial institutions, public and private, to ensure that they fund sustainable and resilient development for all.”

UN Secretary-General's remarks to Meeting with Leading Mayors Supported by C40 Cities: “Advancing a Carbon-Neutral, Resilient Recovery for Cities and Nations”

“Cities are already succeeding on climate action. The challenge is to speed up, and scale up.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Leaders' Dialogue on the Africa COVID-Climate Emergency: Delivering the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme

“We can provide universal access to energy in Africa primarily through renewable energy.”

Deputy Secretary-General's opening remarks at Climate and Development Ministerial Meeting [as prepared for delivery]

“We must deliver concrete action now to protect the most vulnerable from more severe and frequent climate impacts.”

Secretary-General's video message for Earth Hour 2021

“The United Nations is proud to join in the global effort to mark Earth Hour. It’s a reminder that small actions can make a big difference.”

Secretary-General's video remarks to the 2021 Ministerial on Climate Action, convened by China-EU-Canada

“Together, we must support the communities that are affected, through a just transition that provides decent jobs and a clean environment.”

Secretary-General's video message to Powering Past Coal Alliance Summit

“Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to get in line with the 1.5 degree goal.”

Secretary-General’s statement on the UNFCCC Initial Nationally Determined Contributions Synthesis Report

“2021 is a make or break year to confront the global climate emergency.”

Secretary-General's message marking Second Anniversary of Costa Rica National Decarbonization Plan

“As we strive to expand this coalition, the international community must also turn those pledges into concrete plans.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council - on addressing climate-related security risks to international peace and security through mitigation and resilience building

“We need to embrace a concept of security that puts people at its centre.”

Secretary-General's remarks to event marking the United States rejoining the Paris Agreement

“Today is a day of hope, as the United States officially rejoins the Paris Agreement. This is good news for the United States — and for the world.”

Secretary-General's Remarks at briefing to Member States by incoming COP26 President

“We need every voice at the table. As we collectively address our climate emergency, no voice, and no solution, should be left behind.”

Secretary-General's Remarks to Member States on Priorities for 2021

“Let’s keep building the global coalition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.”

Secretary-General's special address at Davos Agenda

“We need you more than ever to help us change course, end fragility, avert climate catastrophe and build the equitable and sustainable future we want and we need.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the Climate Adaptation Summit

“Adaptation cannot be the neglected half of the climate equation.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the COP26 Roundtable on Clean Power Transition

“We must invest in a future of affordable renewable energy for all people, everywhere.”

Secretary-General's remarks to the One Planet Summit

“2021 must be the year to reconcile humanity with nature.”

Secretary-General's remarks at the Climate Ambition Summit

“Climate action is the barometer of leadership in today’s world. It is what people and planet need at this time.”

Secretary-General's address at Columbia University: "The State of the Planet"

“Making peace with nature is the defining task of the 21st century. It must be the top, top priority for everyone, everywhere.”

Secretary-General's remarks on Climate Action to European Council on Foreign Relations

“It is essential that the European Union commits to reducing emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030. The Climate Ambition Summit on the five-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement represents a clear opportunity for the EU to present its more ambitious climate plan.”

Secretary-General's remarks to Youth4Climate Virtual Event

“Major and rapid change is exactly what we need in the fight against climate disruption. And no group is more effective in pushing leaders to change course than you.”

Secretary-General's video message for "Finance in Common" Summit

“The decisions we make now will determine the course of the next 30 years and beyond: Emissions must fall by half by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050 to reach the 1.5C goal.”

Secretary-General's remarks at Paris Peace Forum [as prepared for delivery; scroll down for English version]

“2021 must be the year of a leap forward towards carbon neutrality.”

Secretary-General's video message to Green Horizon Summit

“All governments, cities, financial institutions and private businesses must establish their transition plans for net zero emissions by 2050 and start with concrete policies now. Together we can achieve carbon neutrality for a sustainable future.”

Secretary-General's video message for Climate Action Network: ‘World We Want' Public Mobilization Campaign

“There is much work ahead for the global community to build greater climate justice and resilience, as we strive for net-zero emissions by 2050. But I remain optimistic.”

Secretary-General's video remarks to Climate Vulnerable Forum

“All countries are threatened by climate change, but some are more vulnerable than others.”

Secretary-General's video message to Daring Cities Virtual Forum: Urban Leaders and Climate Change

“We need cities to commit to net zero emissions before 2050, and a 45 per cent reduction by 2030.”

Secretary-General's remarks to High-level Roundtable on Climate Ambition

“The climate emergency is fully upon us, and we have no time to waste. The answer to our existential crisis is swift, decisive, scaled up action and solidarity among nations.”

19th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture "The Rise of Renewables: Shining a Light on a Sustainable Future

“As governments mobilize trillions of dollars to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, their decisions will have climate consequences for decades.”

Remarks to International Energy Agency Clean Energy Transition Summit

"It is vital that we bring sharper focus on the need to transition away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future."

Remarks on World Oceans Day

"We have a responsibility to correct our relationship with the oceans."

Opening remarks at virtual press briefing from UN Headquarters

"Recovery needs to go hand-in-hand with climate action."

Remarks to Petersberg Climate Dialogue

"Delayed climate action will cost us vastly more each year in terms of lost lives and livelihoods, crippled businesses and damaged economies."

Opening remarks at press conference on WMO State of the Climate 2019 Report

"We have no time to lose if we are to avert climate catastrophe."

Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks at the New School: "Women and Power"

"Gender equality, including men stepping up and taking responsibility, is essential if we are to beat the climate emergency."

Remarks on Sustainable Development and Climate Change

"The answer to the global climate crisis will come from global solidarity backed by global action."

Remarks at the 33rd African Union Summit

"Africa is the least responsible for climate disruption yet is among the first and worst to suffer."

Opening remarks to the media at the African Union Summit

"Global commitment is needed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, including by the big emitters."

Remarks to Group of Friends on Climate

"Climate action will be both a priority and a driver of the Decade of Action"

Remarks at COP25 event on Climate Action for Jobs

"The green economy is the economy of the future and we need to make way for it right now."

Remarks at COP25 event on Climate Ambition

"We need more ambition, more solidarity and more urgency."

Remarks at High-Level Event on Caring for Climate at COP25

"Let’s make 2020 the year we put the world for a carbon-neutral future"

Press Conference with the Prime Minister of Spain

"There is still a long way to go and we are still running behind climate change."

Remarks at opening ceremony of UN Climate Change Conference COP25

"The decisions we make here will ultimately define whether we choose a path of hope, or a path of surrender..."

Pre-COP25 press conference

"Our war against nature must stop. And we know that that is possible."

Remarks at the closing of High-Level Political Dialogue of the Pacific Island Forum

"What we ask for is not solidarity, it’s not generosity, it is enlightened self-interest from all decision-makers around the world."

Remarks at the Pacific Islands Forum

"We have the blueprints, the frameworks and the plans. What we need is urgency, political will and ambition."

Opening remarks at press encounter with James Shaw, New Zealand Minister for Climate Change

"[M]ove taxes from salaries to carbon [...] subsidies for fossil fuels must end [...] stop the construction of coal power plants from 2020 onwards"

Remarks to Māori and Pasifika youth at event hosted by James Shaw, New Zealand Minister for Climate Change

"[T]he green economy is the economy of the future and the grey economy has no future"

Secretary-General's remarks at High-Level Meeting on Climate and Sustainable Development

"We have the tools to answer the questions posed by climate change, environmental pressure, poverty and inequality."

Secretary-General's remarks at the closing of the High-Level Segment of the Talanoa Dialogue, COP24

"We no longer have the luxury of time."

Secretary-General's remarks on the 2019 Climate Summit

"The Paris Agreement is not a piece of paper."

Secretary-General's remarks at the opening of the COP 24

"Science demands a significantly more ambitious response."

Remarks at High-Level Event on Climate Change

"Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is still possible and will prevent some of the worst-case scenarios."

Remarks at First General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance

"The Climate Summit will provide an opportunity for leaders and stakeholders, both public and private, to demonstrate real climate action and showcase their ambition."

"Climate change is indeed running faster than we are, and we have the risk to see irreversible damage that will not be possible to recover if we don’t act very, very quickly."

Remarks on Climate Change

"The Climate Summit will provide an opportunity for leaders and partners to demonstrate real climate action and showcase their ambition"

Remarks at launch of the New Climate Economy report

"Over 250 investors with $28 trillion dollars in managed assets have signed on to the Climate Action 100+ initiative"

Facts and figures

What is climate change?
Causes and effects
Myth busters

Cutting emissions

Explaining net zero
High-level expert group on net zero
Checklists for credibility of net-zero pledges
Greenwashing
What you can do

Clean energy

Renewable energy – key to a safer future
What is renewable energy
Five ways to speed up the energy transition
Why invest in renewable energy
Clean energy stories
A just transition

Adapting to climate change

Climate adaptation
Early warnings for all
Youth voices

Financing climate action

Finance and justice
Loss and damage
$100 billion commitment
Why finance climate action
Biodiversity
Human Security

International cooperation

What are Nationally Determined Contributions
Acceleration Agenda
Climate Ambition Summit
Climate conferences (COPs)
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U.N. climate chief says two years to save the planet

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The World Governments Summit takes place in Dubai

U.N. demands stronger climate plans from G20
Calls for jump in funds for developing countries
Warns climate is 'slipping down cabinet agendas'

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Reporting by Simon Jessop, Kate Abnett Editing by Ros Russell

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Kate Abnett covers EU climate and energy policy in Brussels, reporting on Europe’s green transition and how climate change is affecting people and ecosystems across the EU. Other areas of coverage include international climate diplomacy. Before joining Reuters, Kate covered emissions and energy markets for Argus Media in London. She is part of the teams whose reporting on Europe’s energy crisis won two Reuters journalist of the year awards in 2022.

Simon leads a team tracking how the financial system and companies more broadly are responding to the challenges posed by climate change, nature loss and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues including diversity and inclusion.

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Haiti's government formalized the creation of a nine-member transitional presidential council on Friday, a long-delayed move intended as the first step in restoring security to the gang-ravaged Caribbean country.

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An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth

A new technology is attempting to brighten clouds and bounce some of the sun’s rays back into space..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Katrin Bennhold. This is “The Daily.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

After failing for decades to cut carbon emissions enough to stop the planet from dangerously overheating, scientists are increasingly looking at backup measures, some that would fight the warming by intervening in the climate itself. Today, my colleague Christopher Flavelle on the efforts to engineer our way out of the climate crisis.

It’s Friday, April 5.

So, Chris, you’ve been covering climate change for a while, but recently you’ve been focused on a very special project. Tell us about this.

Yeah, two things have been happening in climate change recently that are really important. Number one, records have been falling at alarming rates. Last year was, again, the hottest year on record. Much the world surpassed the important threshold of 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. So the world is getting warmer at an alarming rate.

At the same time, emissions aren’t falling. The message of the last generation has been, we need to cut emissions really to almost zero by the end of this century. And in fact, the reverse is happening. Emissions are continuing to rise.

At the same time, the number and characteristics of weather disasters have become really alarming. So the effects of that warming have become really clear. And it’s clear that the world is struggling to adapt to those effects.

So the other thing that’s happening at a high level is there’s more research and more consideration of OK, what if we can’t cut emissions fast enough? What if we’re going to have this really severe degree of warming? Can we do something else, maybe temporarily, to buffer those effects? And that’s led to this question of, what kinds of changes can we make deliberately to the atmosphere, to the environment that will maybe produce some sort of artificial cooling in the meantime?

So earlier this week I was able to watch, as scientists did, the first outdoor tests in the US on a technology that will aim to do just that. It’s called marine cloud brightening.

So what is this idea of brightening the clouds? Where did it originally come from?

So everyone I talked to pointed back to one really important moment in 1990 when a British physicist named John Latham was taking a hike in Wales with his young son. And they were looking out at the clouds over the Irish Sea.

And as Dr. Latham later told it, his son asked him, “Hey, why are clouds bright?” And Dr. Latham said, “Well, because they reflect sun right back in the sky.” And his son said, “So they’re like soggy mirrors.”

And Dr. Latham went on to write a letter in 1990 that was published in the Journal Nature, saying, you know what, if we can deliberately manipulate these clouds, maybe we can make them more reflective and actually counteract the effects of global warming. That was the inception point for this idea, and it led to decades of research culminating in this week’s test.

So the idea is if you can make clouds more reflective, you can reflect more of the sun’s heat back into space. So it won’t get trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere in the first place.

Exactly. That’s what they’re trying to do.

That’s a very simple, and at the same time, a very powerful idea. I love actually that they were hiking in Wales. That’s where I am right now, and we sure have a lot of clouds here, rain clouds. But tell me more about what you saw at the testing site.

So this Tuesday, a little after 7:00 in the morning, I pulled up in a parking lot on a dock at the edge of Alameda.

I’m standing at the gangplank to the USS Hornet, a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Francisco Bay here for the first test in the US of a machine that was designed to try to brighten clouds, a way of maybe temporarily cooling the Earth.

And I made my way up one of the massive gangplanks and came in to find a cluster of some of the top atmospheric scientists in the world.

Have you met Sarah?

How do you do?

Hi, Rob. How are you?

Looking really excited. And they accompanied me out to the flight deck —

Here we are.

— of this aircraft carrier.

Pretty epic.

It’s pretty great.

Which was a bit like a party. They’d set up a little table on the side with some coffee and some sandwiches, and people were chatting and saying hi to each other. And I asked them why they were excited.

So I know a thousand of what you know, and I still find this exciting. You guys, walk me through. Is this like a big day for you or just like one more test?

No, this is a big day for me.

And they said this was actually a huge day in their research.

Just looking at it, going, yeah, this is the culmination of years of work, right?

Wow, and tell me about what exactly they were so excited about and what they were doing on the ship.

Yeah, the thing everyone was excited about was this machine set up at the far end of the flight deck of this aircraft carrier. It’s blue. It’s shiny. It looks a bit like a snow maker or maybe like a spotlight.

This machine is a sprayer. What it does is it sprays really, really, really small aerosol particles, in this case, smashed up sea salts, a long distance at just the right size and just the right volume. Because in theory, at some point, you could use this machine to change the size and number of the droplets in the clouds. You can make them brighter conceptually it’s possible. The question is, technologically, can we do it?

Yeah, the particles are coming out in a super concentrated there. So whatever’s coming out of that circle there is basically going to be huge by the time it gets to the cloud.

And so the goal with this test was they spent years building this sprayer that can use really high pressured air to smash salt particles into super small bits, about 1,700th the size of a human hair.

What they didn’t know, until this week, and they’re trying to find out right now, once you spray it, do those aerosols that are so finely tuned stay that size? In theory, they should.

What they don’t know is, things like wind and humidity and temperature could potentially cause them to coagulate, to regroup, which would throw the whole thing off. If the aerosols you’re shooting into clouds are too big, you can backfire the whole purpose. You can wreck what you’re trying to do because you make clouds less reflective, not more reflective.

So the whole goal of the experiment is, OK, can they make the spray just so, so that even in outdoor conditions, the aerosols that are so finely sized remain the size you want them to be. And that’s what they’re trying to find out.

And you watched the actual test of this. What did you see? What happened?

Those instruments are emitting a slight hum.

So operating the sprayer is not straightforward.

And they’re filling the tanks with the salt water that’ll be used to produce the mist.

There was somebody crouched on the control deck, the panel of instruments at the side of the sprayer. So I went over and tried to sit next to him and watch him as he turned a series of knobs and careful sequence.

OK. Yeah, everybody, we’re going to run some air. So the — ... We need two minutes here just to have power on this.

And after a series of tests to make sure the valves were clear —

OK, ear protection, please.

— finally the moment came, and he got an all clear over his walkie-talkie. And he turned on the water —

Water on, copy, over.

— and the air.

[COMPRESSOR ACTIVATING]

Since the sound of the compressor pushes pressurized air through the sprayer, it’s making a dull, throbbing sensation. You can feel it a little bit through the deck of the ship.

We all had ear protectors. And even with the ear protectors, it was really loud. And then you can almost feel the spray bursting out of this machine and watch it travel really hundreds of feet down the deck of the aircraft carrier.

OK, water off, fan off. Good job.

Awesome, guys, you’re done. Thank you. Excellent.

First test is done.

My first signal that things have gone well was I looked up when the spraying machine was turned off and saw some scientists high-fiving down the deck.

What’d you think?

It’s beautiful.

Is it what you thought it would be?

It’s better. And I’m optimistic that it will tell us a lot about what these things do. This made me really optimistic.

And the idea is to do several short bursts like that through the day?

And everyone seemed really excited that this thing they’d worked on for years was finally happening in this really important outdoor test.

OK, so it sounds like this test was a success.

Yeah, they stressed that they need a lot of time to really go over the results. They’ll be doing this test again and again in different weather conditions. But the initial reaction seemed positive. They seemed to think that the numbers they were getting were what they were hoping to see.

And so now the goal is, can they maintain the right size aerosols even in different conditions down the deck of this aircraft carrier? That’ll give them some confidence that if they decided one day to try and do this on the open ocean to actually brighten clouds, they’d have the ability to do it.

So, Chris, if all of this works, how and when do these researchers anticipate that this would actually be used?

Well, here’s a great example. In the month of February, a version of this testing was also happening in Australia, off the Coast of Australia, where researchers were testing whether marine cloud brightening could be used to cool the ocean just a little bit around the Great Barrier Reef.

Really high ocean temperatures are causing bleaching of that coral reef. The idea was, could they use marine cloud brightening to save some of those reefs from dying? And that’s probably a good idea of the fairly localized situation, where you could, in theory if you do it right, have a fairly quick degree of cooling that could maybe try to avert or mitigate something pretty acute like a heat wave or a stretch of warm weather that would kill coral. But the science is probably too new at this point to talk about the right situations to use it. Those conversations are all down the road as researchers look at these and other ideas for what they could do if things get really bad.

We’ll be right back.

So, Chris, when I think about solutions to climate change, it usually involves these very hard things we need to do, like, change the way we live, the way we drive, what we eat. We need these international treaties. We need carbon taxes regulation. There’s lots of hard stuff, and we haven’t gotten that far.

But here you’ve just told me about this technology that, if it ends up working, could actually help cool the planet without anyone needing to do any of these hard things. It sounds great.

It does sound great. Now, we’ve got to say, first of all that whenever anybody working on this stuff talks about it, the first thing they say is this is not an alternative to reducing emissions. This is looking for ways to buy time as we try to cut emissions. There’s no way to really deal with climate change that doesn’t entail burning less fossil fuel and quickly.

But yes, in addition to brightening clouds, there’s other ways to try to bounce more sunlight back into space and other ideas. My colleague David Gelles wrote the first piece in our series looking the idea of removing carbon dioxide directly from the air, reversing our past emissions.

Other ideas include finding ways to suck up more of the CO2 in the oceans. There’s even ideas that my colleague Cara Buckley covered of could we build a sort of a giant parasol way out in space that would reflect or scatter more of the sunlight and prevent some of that sunlight from even reaching the Earth in the first place?

So there’s a huge number of ideas that until very recently seemed just so bizarre and/or so expensive and/or so dangerous that they were hardly worth pursuing seriously. And what’s changed really quickly in the last really year or two is all of a sudden those ideas have switched from being too wild to spend much time on to being so important because the situation is so dire that we can’t not look at them. And that’s the pivot that my team has been trying to cover.

And what characterizes all these initiatives is that rather than reducing our own emissions, we’re now trying to intervene in the climate in a proactive way, engineering the climate in a way.

Yes, and you hear the phrase geoengineering to describe these ideas collectively. And what people who research this will stress is, we’re already geoengineering. For more than a century, we’ve been geoengineering in the sense of putting climate changing pollution into the atmosphere that’s caused the planet to change by trapping more heat in the atmosphere. So the question is, do we want to deliberately geoengineer in a way that will ease that pressure rather than just making it worse?

Of course, there some controversy attached to this. And there are some pretty valid concerns about what the consequences might be if we keep on pursuing these ideas.

And why are they controversial?

Well, the first concern that you hear is this idea of moral hazard, that if people come to think that there are ways of addressing climate change that don’t require them to change their lifestyle or sacrifice conveniences or change the kinds of cars they drive or how their power is generated that they will lose interest in those tough changes. And the momentum, such as it is, towards cutting emissions will fade even more. But we don’t know yet whether politicians or governments or companies or just people will misuse these ideas to try to shirk the harder work of reducing the amount of greenhouse gases we emit.

Another really important argument you hear is, OK, side effects. Do we really know what would happen if we tried these things? Marine cloud brightening is one of those situations where there are known unknowns and unknown unknowns, as they say.

The known unknowns are, well, what would happen to things like ocean circulation? What would happen to precipitation? What would happen to the effect on the amount of energy reaching the ocean? What would happen to the fisheries industry? We don’t really know, and researchers are trying to find out, what those effects might be.

Then there are the unknown unknowns. If you start deliberately changing the cloud system, well, what else might happen that we haven’t anticipated? Do you move the location of where rainfall happens? Do you perhaps upset the monsoon cycle in India? Do you change the ability to grow food in parts of the world?

So if you do this at a bigger scale, the consequences of those potential side effects get more and more severe. And I talked to environmentalists who said that’s a real concern. You just can’t model those risks. And you, to a degree, by pursuing this, have to accept that risk is real and almost roll the dice.

And I guess much like climate change, where you have a group of countries that is most responsible for CO2 emissions that have caused the global warming and then a whole other group of countries that are probably suffering the worst consequences, even though they haven’t contributed to those emissions nearly as much, you might see a situation where this kind of interference with the climate at the initiative of some countries, presumably the wealthy countries that have that technology, would then have unintended consequences in countries that have no control over this. So that’s tricky.

That’s right. And that takes us to a third category of concerns, which is, OK, let’s assume that things are bad enough, that collectively societies want to take those risks of those side effects. Well, then who chooses, who decides when we get to that point? Is there even a mechanism that would allow you to get informed consent from everybody who’d be affected?

And if these would affect everybody, it’s hard to imagine how you would build a governance mechanism that would allow you to say, before we push the button, are we sure everybody is OK with this? The only counter to all of these concerns is compared to what? And this is the point that researchers make.

OK, this is dangerous. OK, it presents challenges, but compared to what? Their point is, don’t compare it to a situation where everything’s fine. Compare it to a situation we’re actually in, where the trajectory of global warming is so serious and isn’t looking like it’ll get better any time soon. Well, compared to those risks, how do these risks compare?

And the question is, would you rather have a world of basically uncontrolled warming? And we have an idea of what that brings, wildfires and drought and sea level rise and storms and diseases. Is that better than some of these more perhaps controlled risks associated with deliberately tinkering with the environment?

So it’s almost like pick your poison. What sort of threats do you want to embrace? And that’s the overwhelming dilemma that we face with this technology.

In a way, what it makes me think, is that these crazy initiatives that we’ve been hearing about from you are yes, they’re testament to our failure in a way to combat climate change so far, because they’re such a last resort, really, such as an act of desperation. But at the same time, it seems like this urgency has actually unleashed a lot of energy and money to tackle the problem.

Yeah, and there’s good news in this. The good news is, the research we’re talking about demonstrates the really amazing capacity of scientists to come up with new ideas, develop new technologies, test them quickly, and at least build some options.

So if there’s any rays of hope around climate change, it’s that humanity’s capacity to innovate and find new ideas is almost endless. So the question is not, are we pursuing the wrong research ideas? The question is, can we find good ideas fast enough to avert the really serious consequences of climate change that we’re already facing?

Chris, I just remember that scientist we heard in the tape from your visit. And she was so excited. And she said that she was really optimistic. I wonder, how are you feeling?

I think the frustration that you’ll hear among climate reporters, and I’m in this group, is that most people seem not to appreciate the severity of the situation that we’re in. There seems to be a view that we’re dealing with this. People are buying electric cars, and we’re getting more solar power and wind power. And things are going the right way, and this will be OK.

Things are not going the right way. Not only are we on the wrong trajectory in terms of emissions, we are so far away from being on the right trajectory for emissions that it’s hard to imagine us cutting emissions globally at a rate anywhere near fast enough to avoid almost unbearable consequences of global warming. So that’s the downside.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Here’s the good news, though. I do think, and this again I think is a view among other climate reporters, the capacity of scientists and of companies to change track and to find new products and apply new ideas is really impressive. It just doesn’t feel like there’s a connection yet between the urgency of the situation and the way people and companies and governments are responding.

And so I guess if the question is, how I feel about this? I am constantly amazed at the ingenuity of the researchers I come across in my job every day. What I don’t yet know about is whether or not society will move fast enough to adopt and apply those ideas before the conditions that we face from climate change become almost unbearable.

Well, Chris, on this cautiously optimistic note, thank you very much.

Here’s what else you need to know today. In a tense phone call with Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, President Biden called the airstrikes that killed seven aid workers this week unacceptable and threatened to condition future support for Israel on how it addresses concerns about civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It was the first time that Biden explicitly sought to leverage American aid to influence Israel’s conduct of the war against Hamas. But the White House stopped short of saying directly that the president would halt arms supplies or impose conditions on their use as some fellow Democrats have urged him to do.

And a centrist group called No Labels has abandoned its plans to run a presidential ticket in this year’s election after failing to recruit a candidate. The group, which last year said it raised $60 million, had planned to put forward what it called a bipartisan unity ticket in the event of a rematch between President Biden and former President Trump but in recent months suffered a string of rejections from prominent Republicans and Democrats who declined to run on its ticket.

Today’s episode was produced by Michael Simon Johnson, Eric Krupke, Luke Vander Ploeg and Rachelle Bonja. It was edited by Patricia Willens, contains original music by Rowan Niemisto, Elisheba Ittoop, and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

“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 Yang, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, MJ Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schroeppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, 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.

Special thanks to Lisa Tobin, Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, and Nina Lassam.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Katrin Bennhold. See you Monday.

April 12, 2024 • 34:23 How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam
April 11, 2024 • 28:39 The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics
April 10, 2024 • 22:49 Trump’s Abortion Dilemma
April 9, 2024 • 30:48 How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall
April 8, 2024 • 30:28 The Eclipse Chaser
April 7, 2024 The Sunday Read: ‘What Deathbed Visions Teach Us About Living’
April 5, 2024 • 29:11 An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth
April 4, 2024 • 32:37 Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen
April 3, 2024 • 27:42 The Accidental Tax Cutter in Chief
April 2, 2024 • 29:32 Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate
April 1, 2024 • 36:14 Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem
March 29, 2024 • 48:42 Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband

Hosted by Katrin Bennhold

Featuring Christopher Flavelle

Produced by Michael Simon Johnson , Eric Krupke , Luke Vander Ploeg and Rachelle Bonja

Edited by Patricia Willens

Original music by Rowan Niemisto , Elisheba Ittoop and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Chris Wood

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

Decades of efforts to cut carbon emissions have failed to significantly slow the rate of global warming, so scientists are now turning to bolder approaches.

Christopher Flavelle, who writes about climate change for The Times, discusses efforts to engineer our way out of the climate crisis.

On today’s episode

Christopher Flavelle , who covers how the United States tries to adapt to the effects of climate change for The New York Times.

A blue water cannon is spraying water over the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Background reading

Warming is getting worse. So they just tested a way to deflect the sun .

Can we engineer our way out of the climate crisis ?

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.

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

Christopher Flavelle is a Times reporter who writes about how the United States is trying to adapt to the effects of climate change. More about Christopher Flavelle

Luke Vander Ploeg is a senior producer on “The Daily” and a reporter for the National Desk covering the Midwest. More about Luke Vander Ploeg

U.N. climate chief says two years to save the planet

By Kate Abnett and Simon Jessop

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -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 1.5 Celsius 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 in Baku, Azerbaijan, is for countries to agree a new target for climate finance to support developing countries struggling to invest in shifting away from fossil fuels and fighting climate change.

U.N. climate summits have swelled in size in recent years, with thousands of lobbyists and business representatives attending alongside the government delegations directly involved in the negotiations.

Nearly 84,000 people attended last year's COP28 summit in Dubai, drawing criticism from campaigners after more than 2,000 fossil fuel lobbyists registered to attend.

Stiell said he would like to see future COP meetings reduced in size, while prioritising strong negotiation outcomes. He said he was in talks with Azerbaijan and Brazil - host of the next two U.N. climate summits - about this.

He called for more climate finance to be raised 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.

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

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 agendas".

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.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop, Kate AbnettEditing by Ros Russell)

FILE PHOTO: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Executive Secretary Simon Stiell speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo

As you know, we are champions of banking’s essential role in a community — its potential for bringing people together, for enabling companies and individuals to attain their goals, and for being a source of strength in difficult times.

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

Across the globe, 2023 was yet another year of significant challenges, from the terrible ongoing wars and violence in the Middle East and Ukraine to mounting terrorist activity and growing geopolitical tensions, importantly with China. Almost all nations felt the effects last year of global economic uncertainty, including higher energy and food prices, inflation rates and volatile markets. While all these events and associated instability have serious ramifications on our company, colleagues, clients and countries where we do business, their consequences on the world at large — with the extreme suffering of the Ukrainian people, escalating tragedy in the Middle East and the potential restructuring of the global order — are far more important.

As these events unfold, America’s global leadership role is being challenged outside by other nations and inside by our polarized electorate. We need to find ways to put aside our differences and work in partnership with other Western nations in the name of democracy. During this time of great crises, uniting to protect our essential freedoms, including free enterprise, is paramount. We should remember that America, “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” still remains a shining beacon of hope to citizens around the world. JPMorgan Chase, a company that historically has worked across borders and boundaries, will do its part to ensure that the global economy is safe and secure.

In spite of the unsettling landscape, including last year’s regional bank turmoil, the U.S. economy continues to be resilient, with consumers still spending, and the markets currently expect a soft landing. It is important to note that the economy is being fueled by large amounts of government deficit spending and past stimulus. There is also a growing need for increased spending as we continue transitioning to a greener economy, restructuring global supply chains, boosting military expenditure and battling rising healthcare costs. This may lead to stickier inflation and higher rates than markets expect. Furthermore, there are downside risks to watch. Quantitative tightening is draining more than $900 billion in liquidity from the system annually — and we have never truly experienced the full effect of quantitative tightening on this scale. Plus the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to have the potential to disrupt energy and food markets, migration, and military and economic relationships, in addition to their dreadful human cost. These significant and somewhat unprecedented forces cause us to remain cautious.

2023 was another strong year for JPMorgan Chase, with our firm generating record revenue for the sixth consecutive year, as well as setting numerous records in each of our lines of business. We earned revenue in 2023 of $162.4 billion 1 and net income of $49.6 billion, with return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) of 21%, reflecting strong underlying performance across our businesses. We also increased our quarterly common dividend of $1.00 per share to $1.05 per share in the third quarter of 2023 — and again to $1.15 per share in the first quarter of 2024 — while continuing to reinforce our fortress balance sheet. We grew market share in several of our businesses and continued to make significant investments in products, people and technology while exercising strict risk disciplines.

Throughout the year, we demonstrated the power of our investment philosophy and guiding principles, as well as the value of being there for clients — as we always are — in both good times and bad times. The result was continued growth broadly across the firm. We will highlight a few examples from 2023: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB) extended its #1 leadership positions and grew share year-over-year in retail deposits, credit card sales and credit card outstandings (adding close to 3.6 million net new customers to the franchise); the Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB) maintained its #1 rank in both Investment Banking and Markets and gained more than 100 basis points of Investment Banking market share; Commercial Banking (CB) added over 5,000 new relationships (excluding First Republic Bank), roughly doubling the prior year’s achievement; and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM) saw record client asset net inflows of $490 billion, over 20% higher than its prior record.

In 2023, we continued to play a forceful and essential role in advancing economic growth. In total, we extended credit and raised capital totaling $2.3 trillion for our consumer and institutional clients around the world. On a daily basis, we move nearly $10 trillion in over 120 currencies and more than 160 countries, as well as safeguard over $32 trillion in assets. By purchasing First Republic Bank, we brought much-needed stability to the U.S. banking system while allowing us to give a new, secure home to over half a million First Republic customers.

As always, we hold fast to our commitment to corporate responsibility, including helping to create a stronger, more inclusive economy — from supporting work skills training programs around the world to financing affordable housing and small businesses to making investments in cities like Detroit that show how business and government leaders can work together to solve problems.

We have achieved our decades-long consistency by adhering to our key principles and strategies (see sidebar on Steadfast Principles below), which allow us to drive good organic growth and promote proper management of our capital (including dividends and stock buybacks). The charts below show our performance results and illustrate how we have grown our franchises, how we compare with our competitors and how we look at our fortress balance sheet. Please peruse them and the CEO letters in this Annual Report, all of which provide specific details about our businesses and our plans for the future.

STEADFAST PRINCIPLES WORTH REPEATING (AND ONE NEW ONE)

Looking back on the past two+ decades — starting from my time as Chairman and CEO of Bank One in 2000 — there is one common theme: our unwavering dedication to help clients, communities and countries throughout the world. It is clear that our financial discipline, constant investment in innovation and ongoing development of our people have enabled us to achieve this consistency and commitment. In addition, across the firm, we uphold certain steadfast tenets that are worth repeating.

First, our work has very real human impact. While JPMorgan Chase stock is owned by large institutions, pension plans, mutual funds and directly by single investors, in almost all cases the ultimate beneficiaries are individuals in our communities. More than 100 million people in the United States own stocks; many, in one way or another, own JPMorgan Chase stock. Frequently, these shareholders are veterans, teachers, police officers, firefighters, healthcare workers, retirees, or those saving for a home, education or retirement. Often, our employees also bank these shareholders, as well as their families and their companies. Your management team goes to work every day recognizing the enormous responsibility that we have to all of our shareholders.

Second, shareholder value can be built only if you maintain a healthy and vibrant company, which means doing a good job of taking care of your customers, employees and communities. Conversely, how can you have a healthy company if you neglect any of these stakeholders? As we have learned over the past few years, there are myriad ways an institution can demonstrate its compassion for its employees and its communities while still strengthening shareholder value.

Third, while we don’t run the company worrying about the stock price in the short run, in the long run we consider our stock price a measure of our progress over time. This progress is a function of continual investments in our people, systems and products, in good and bad times, to build our capabilities. These important investments will also drive our company’s future prospects and position it to grow and prosper for decades. Measured by stock performance, our progress is exceptional. For example, whether looking back 10 years or even farther to 2004, when the JPMorgan Chase/Bank One merger took place, we have outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the Standard & Poor’s Financials Index.

Fourth, we are united behind basic principles and strategies (you can see the principles for How We Do Business on our website and our Purpose statement in my letter from last year) that have helped build this company and made it thrive. These allow us to maintain a fortress balance sheet, constantly invest and nurture talent, fully satisfy regulators, continually improve risk, governance and controls, and serve customers and clients while lifting up communities worldwide. This philosophy is embedded in our company culture and influences nearly every role in the firm.

Fifth, we strive to build enduring businesses, which rely on and benefit from one another, but we are not a conglomerate. This structure helps generate our superior returns. Nonetheless, despite our best efforts, the walls that protect this company are not particularly high — and we face extraordinary competition. I have written about this reality extensively in the past and cover it again in this letter. We recognize our strengths and vulnerabilities, and we play our hand as best we can.

Sixth, and this is the new one , we must be a source of strength, particularly in tough times, for our clients and the countries in which we operate. We must take seriously our role as one of the guardians of the world’s financial systems.

Seventh, we operate with a very important silent partner — the U.S. government — noting as my friend Warren Buffett points out that his company’s success is predicated upon the extraordinary conditions our country creates. He is right to say to his shareholders that when they see the American flag, they all should say thank you. We should, too. JPMorgan Chase is a healthy and thriving company, and we always want to give back and pay our fair share. We do pay our fair share — and we want it to be spent well and have the greatest impact. To give you an idea of where our taxes and fees go: In the last 10 years, we paid more than $46 billion in federal, state and local taxes in the United States and over $22 billion in taxes outside of the United States. Additionally, we paid the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation over $10 billion so that it has the resources to cover failure in the American banking sector. Our partner — the federal government — also imposes significant regulations upon us, and it is imperative that we meet all legal and regulatory requirements imposed on our company.

Eighth and finally, we know the foundation of our success rests with our people. They are the front line, both individually and as teams, serving our customers and communities, building the technology, making the strategic decisions, managing the risks, determining our investments and driving innovation. However you view the world — its complexity, risks and opportunities — a company’s prosperity requires a great team of people with guts, brains, integrity, enormous capabilities and high standards of professional excellence to ensure its ongoing success.

I remain proud of our company’s resiliency and of what our hundreds of thousands of employees around the world have achieved, collectively and individually. Throughout these challenging past few years, we have never stopped doing all the things we should be doing to serve our clients and our communities. As you know, we are champions of banking’s essential role in a community — its potential for bringing people together, for enabling companies and individuals to attain their goals, and for being a source of strength in difficult times. I often remind our employees that the work we do matters and has impact. United by our principles and purpose, we help people and institutions finance and achieve their aspirations, lifting up individuals, homeowners, small businesses, larger corporations, schools, hospitals, cities and countries in all regions of the world. What we have accomplished in the 20 years since the Bank One and JPMorgan Chase merger is evidence of the importance of our values.

CELEBRATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BANK ONE/JPMORGAN CHASE MERGER

J.P. Morgan Chase

By 2004, J.P. Morgan Chase already represented the consolidation of four of the 10 largest U.S. banks from 1990: The Chase Manhattan Corp., Manufacturers Hanover, Chemical Banking Corp. and, most recently, J.P. Morgan & Company. And some of their predecessor companies stretched back into the 1800s, one even into the late 1700s.

Bank One had been even busier on the acquisition front, especially across the United States. By 1998, then Banc One had more than 1,300 branches in 12 states when it announced a merger with First Chicago NBD, a Chicago-based bank created just three years earlier by the merger of First Chicago and Detroit-based NBD. Now headquartered in Chicago, the new Bank One became the largest bank in the Midwest, second largest among credit card companies and fourth largest in the United States. But the merger didn’t go as planned, with Bank One issuing three different earnings warnings. In March 2000, Bank One reached outside its executive ranks, and my tenure began as Chairman and CEO, working to overhaul the company and help bring it back to profitability and growth.

The story begins ... A merger 20 years ago helped transform two giant banks

Fast forward to 2003, and another wave of consolidation was well underway in U.S. banking. Most of the nation’s larger banks were trying to position themselves to be an “endgame winner.” In the biggest deal, Bank of America agreed to buy FleetBoston Financial Corp. for more than $40 billion. Those two banks — already amalgamations of several predecessor companies — touted the breadth of their combined retail branch network.

But they were hardly alone. In 2003, some 215 deals were announced among U.S. commercial banks and bank holding companies for a total value of $66 billion, according to Thomson Financial, which tracks merger data.

In July 2004, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One merged — as part of a 225-year journey — to form this exceptional company of ours: JPMorgan Chase. At its merger in 2004, the combined bank was the fourth largest bank in the world by market capitalization. But with patient groundwork over the years — fixing systems and upgrading technology, managing the notable acquisitions of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual (WaMu) and continuing to reinvest, including in our talent — we have made our company an endgame winner.

In earlier years, banks worried about their survival. While the past two decades have brought some virtually unprecedented challenges, including the great financial crisis and a pandemic followed by a global shutdown, they did not stop us from accomplishing extraordinary things. Our bank has now emerged as the #1 bank by market capitalization.

Each of our businesses is among the best in the world, with increased market share, strong financial results and an unwavering focus on serving our clients, communities and shareholders with distinction and dedication. The strengths that are embedded in JPMorgan Chase — the knowledge and cohesiveness of our people, our long-standing client relationships, our technology and product capabilities, our presence in more than 100 countries and our unquestionable fortress balance sheet — would be hard to replicate. Crucially, the strength of our company has allowed us to always be there for clients, governments and communities — in good times and in bad times — and this strength has enabled us to continually invest in building our businesses for the future.

You can see from the following charts what gains and improvements we have achieved along the way.

Read footnoted information here

Within this letter, I discuss the following:

I. SUMMARY OF OUR 2023 RESULTS AND THE PRINCIPLES THAT GUIDE US

Steadfast principles worth repeating (and a new one)
A timeline of accomplishments
Financial performance

II. UPDATE ON SPECIFIC ISSUES FACING OUR COMPANY

The critical impact of artificial intelligence
Our journey to the cloud
Acquiring First Republic Bank and its customers
Navigating in a complex and potentially dangerous world
What we learned: A five-point action plan to move forward on the climate challenge
Powering economic growth in Florida
Giving the bank regulatory and supervisory process a serious review
Protecting the essential role of market making (trading)

III. STAYING COMPETITIVE IN THE SHRINKING PUBLIC MARKETS

The pressure of quarterly earnings compounded by bad accounting and bad decisions
The hijacking of annual shareholder meetings
The evolving influence of proxy advisors
The benefits and risks of private credit
A bank’s strength: Providing flexible capital

IV. MANAGEMENT LESSONS: THINKING, DECIDING AND TAKING ACTION — DELIBERATELY AND WITH HEART

Benefiting from the OODA loop
Decision making and acting (have a process)
The secret sauce of leadership (have a heart)

V. A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR AMERICA AND THE FREE WESTERN WORLD: STRATEGY AND POLICY MATTER

Coalescing the Western world — A uniquely American task
Strengthening our position with a comprehensive, global economic security strategy
Manager’s Journal: "A Politician's Dream Is A Businessman's Nightmare"
We should have more faith in the amazing power of our freedoms
How we can help lift up our low-income citizens and mend America's torn social fabric

Update on Specific Issues Facing Our Company

Each year, I try to update you on some of the most important issues facing our company. First and foremost may well be the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).

While we do not know the full effect or the precise rate at which AI will change our business — or how it will affect society at large — we are completely convinced the consequences will be extraordinary and possibly as transformational as some of the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years: Think the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, computing and the Internet, among others.

THE CRITICAL IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Since the firm first started using AI over a decade ago, and its first mention in my 2017 letter to shareholders, we have grown our AI organization materially. It now includes more than 2,000 AI/machine learning (ML) experts and data scientists. We continue to attract some of the best and brightest in this space and have an exceptional firmwide AI/ML and Research department with deep expertise.

We have been actively using predictive AI and ML for years — and now have over 400 use cases in production in areas such as marketing, fraud and risk — and they are increasingly driving real business value across our businesses and functions. We're also exploring the potential that generative AI (GenAI) can unlock across a range of domains, most notably in software engineering, customer service and operations, as well as in general employee productivity. In the future, we envision GenAI helping us reimagine entire business workflows. We will continue to experiment with these AI and ML capabilities and implement solutions in a safe, responsible way.

While we are investing more money in our AI capabilities, many of these projects pay for themselves. Over time, we anticipate that our use of AI has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition. It may reduce certain job categories or roles, but it may create others as well. As we have in the past, we will aggressively retrain and redeploy our talent to make sure we are taking care of our employees if they are affected by this trend.

Finally, as a global leader across businesses and regions, we have large amounts of extraordinarily rich data that, together with AI, can fuel better insights and help us improve how we manage risk and serve our customers. In addition to making sure our data is high quality and easily accessible, we need to complete the migration of our analytical data estate to the public cloud. These new data platforms offer high-performance compute power, which will unlock our ability to use our data in ways that are hard to contemplate today.

Recognizing the importance of AI to our business, we created a new position called Chief Data & Analytics Officer that sits on our Operating Committee.

Elevating this new role to the Operating Committee level — reporting directly to Daniel Pinto and me — reflects how critical this function will be going forward and how seriously we expect AI to influence our business. This will embed data and analytics into our decision making at every level of the company. The primary focus is not just on the technical aspects of AI but also on how all management can — and should — use it. Each of our lines of business has corresponding data and analytics roles so we can share best practices, develop reusable solutions that solve multiple business problems, and continuously learn and improve as the future of AI unfolds.

Clearly, AI comes with many risks, which need to be rigorously managed.

We have a robust, well-established risk and control framework that helps us proactively stay in front of AI-related risks, particularly as the regulatory landscape evolves. And we will, of course, continue to work hard with our regulators, clients and subject matter experts to make sure we maintain the highest ethical standards and are transparent in how AI helps us make decisions; e.g., to counter bias among other things.

You may already be aware that there are bad actors using AI to try to infiltrate companies’ systems to steal money and intellectual property or simply to cause disruption and damage. For our part, we incorporate AI into our toolset to counter these threats and proactively detect and mitigate their efforts.

OUR JOURNEY TO THE CLOUD

Getting our technology to the cloud — whether the public cloud or the private cloud — is essential to fully maximize all of our capabilities, including the power of our data. The cloud offers many benefits: 1) it accelerates the speed of delivery of new services; 2) it simultaneously reduces the cost of compute power and enables, when needed, an extraordinary amount of compute capability — called burst computing; 3) it provides that compute capability across all of our data; and 4) it allows us to be able to constantly and quickly adopt new technologies because updated cloud services are continually being added — more so in the public cloud, where we benefit from the innovation that all cloud providers create, than in the private cloud, where innovation is only our own.

Of course, we are learning a lot along the way. For example, we know we should carefully pick which applications and which data go to the public cloud versus the private cloud because of the expense, security and capabilities required. In addition, it is critical that we eventually use multiple clouds to avoid lock-in. And we intend to maintain our own expertise so that we’re never reliant on the expertise of others even if that requires additional money.

We invested approximately $2 billion to build four new, modern, private cloud-based, highly reliable and efficient data centers in the United States (we have 32 data centers globally). To date, about 50% of our applications run a large part of their processing in the public or private cloud. Approximately 70% of our data is now running in the public or private cloud. By the end of 2024, we aim to have 70% of applications and 75% of data moved to the public or private cloud. The new data centers are around 30% more efficient than our existing legacy data centers. Going to the public cloud can provide 30% additional efficiency if done correctly (efficiency improves when your data and applications have been modified, or “refactored,” to enable new cloud services). We have been constantly updating most of our global data centers, and by the end of this year, we can start closing some that are larger, older and less efficient.

ACQUIRING FIRST REPUBLIC BANK AND ITS CUSTOMERS

The purchase of First Republic Bank was not something that we would have done just for ourselves. But the regulators relied on us to step forward (we worked hand in hand with the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the U.S. Treasury), and the purchase of First Republic helped stabilize and strengthen the U.S. financial system in a time of crisis.

The acquisition of a major company entails a lot of complexity. People tend to focus on the financial and economic outcomes, which is a reasonable thing to do. And in the case of First Republic, the numbers look rather good. We recorded an accounting gain of $3 billion on the purchase , and we told the world we expected to add more than $500 million to earnings annually, which we now believe will be closer to $2 billion. However, these results mask some of the true costs. First, approximately one-third of the incremental earning was simply deploying excess capital and liquidity, which doesn’t require purchasing a $300 billion bank — we simply could have bought $300 billion of assets. Second, as soon as the deal was announced, approximately 7,600 of our employees went from working on tasks that would benefit the future of JPMorgan Chase to working on the merger integration. Overall, the integration involves effectively combining more than 165 systems (e.g., statement, deposit, accounting and human resources) and consolidating policies, risk reporting, and other various rules and procedures. We hope to have most of the integration done by the middle of 2024.

Fortunately, we were very familiar and comfortable with all of the assets we were acquiring from First Republic. What we didn’t take on was First Republic’s excessive interest rate exposure — one of the reasons it failed — which we effectively hedged within days of the acquisition.

Our people did a great job of respectfully managing this transition, knowing that circumstances were particularly tough for our new colleagues, whom we tried to welcome with open arms. We did everything we could to redeploy individuals whose jobs were lost because of the merger (we directly hired over 5,000 people). Our approach has always been to go into an acquisition knowing we can learn things from other teams, and in this case, we did: First Republic had done an outstanding job serving high-net-worth clients and venture capitalists, and we are developing what is effectively a new business for us following First Republic’s servicing model. We will serve these high-net-worth clients through a single point of contact, supported by a concierge service model, across our distribution channels — including more than 20 new JPMorgan Chase branded branches.

NAVIGATING IN A COMPLEX AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WORLD

In the policy section, we talk about how we may be entering one of the most treacherous geopolitical eras since World War II. And I have written in the past about high levels of debt, fiscal stimulus, ongoing deficit spending and the unknown effects of quantitative tightening (which I am more worried about than most) so I won’t repeat those views here. However, the impacts of these geopolitical and economic forces are large and somewhat unprecedented; they may not be fully understood until they have completely played out over multiple years. In any case, JPMorgan Chase must be prepared for the various potential impacts and outcomes on our company and our people.

We remain wary of economic prognosticating.

While all companies essentially budget on a base case forecast, we are very careful not to run our business that way. Instead, we look at a range of potential outcomes for which we need to be prepared. Geopolitical and economic forces have an unpredictable timetable — they may unfold over months, or years, and are nearly impossible to put into a one-year forecast. They also have an unpredictable interplay: For example, the geopolitical situation may end up having virtually no effect on the world’s economy or it could potentially be its determinative factor.

We have ongoing concerns about persistent inflationary pressures and consider a wide range of outcomes to manage interest rate exposure and other business risks.

Many key economic indicators today continue to be good and possibly improving, including inflation. But when looking ahead to tomorrow , conditions that will affect the future should be considered. For example, there seems to be a large number of persistent inflationary pressures, which may likely continue. All of the following factors appear to be inflationary: ongoing fiscal spending, remilitarization of the world, restructuring of global trade, capital needs of the new green economy, and possibly higher energy costs in the future (even though there currently is an oversupply of gas and plentiful spare capacity in oil) due to a lack of needed investment in the energy infrastructure. In the past, fiscal deficits did not seem to be closely related to inflation. In the 1970s and early 1980s, there was a general understanding that inflation was driven by “guns and butter”; i.e., fiscal deficits and the increase to the money supply, both partially driven by the Vietnam War, led to increased inflation, which went over 10%. The deficits today are even larger and occurring in boom times — not as the result of a recession — and they have been supported by quantitative easing, which was never done before the great financial crisis. Quantitative easing is a form of increasing the money supply (though it has many offsets). I remain more concerned about quantitative easing than most, and its reversal, which has never been done before at this scale.

Equity values, by most measures, are at the high end of the valuation range, and credit spreads are extremely tight. These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates. I believe the odds are a lot lower than that. In the meantime, there seems to be an enormous focus, too much so, on monthly inflation data and modest changes to interest rates. But the die may be cast — interest rates looking out a year or two may be predetermined by all of the factors I mentioned above. Small changes in interest rates today may have less impact on inflation in the future than many people believe.

Therefore, we are prepared for a very broad range of interest rates, from 2% to 8% or even more, with equally wide-ranging economic outcomes — from strong economic growth with moderate inflation (in this case, higher interest rates would result from higher demand for capital) to a recession with inflation; i.e., stagflation. Economically, the worst-case scenario would be stagflation, which would not only come with higher interest rates but also with higher credit losses, lower business volumes and more difficult markets. Under these many different scenarios, our company would continue to perform at least okay. Importantly, being prepared means we can continue to help our clients no matter what the future portends.

The mini banking crisis of 2023 is over, but beware of higher rates and recession — not just for banks but for the whole economy.

When we purchased First Republic in May 2023 following the failure of two other regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, we thought that the current banking crisis was over. Only these three banks were offsides in having the toxic combination of extreme interest rate exposure, large unrealized losses in the held-to-maturity (HTM) portfolio and highly concentrated deposits. Most of the other regional banks did not have these problems. However, we stipulated that the crisis was over provided that interest rates didn’t go up dramatically and we didn’t experience a serious recession. If long-end rates go up over 6% and this increase is accompanied by a recession, there will be plenty of stress — not just in the banking system but with leveraged companies and others. Remember, a simple 2 percentage point increase in rates essentially reduced the value of most financial assets by 20%, and certain real estate assets, specifically office real estate, may be worth even less due to the effects of recession and higher vacancies. Also remember that credit spreads tend to widen, sometimes dramatically, in a recession.

We seek to be engaged globally and carefully manage complex countries and geopolitical issues.

JPMorgan Chase does business in more than 100 countries, and we have people on the ground in over 60 countries. In almost all those locations, we do research on their economy, their markets and their companies; we bank their government institutions and their companies; and we bank multinational corporations, including the U.S. multinational corporations within their borders. This is a critical role — not only in helping those countries grow and improve but also in expanding the global economy.

Many of these countries are quite complex with different laws, customs and regulations. We are occasionally asked why we bank certain companies and even certain countries, particularly when countries have some laws and customs that are counter to many of the values held in the United States. Here’s why:

The U.S. government sets foreign policy. And when it does, we salute. Wherever we do business, we follow the law of the United States, as it applies in that country (in addition to the laws of the country itself), in all respects. Think of trade rules, sanctions, anti-money laundering and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, among others. By and large, these things help improve those countries. In most cases, the U.S. government does not want us to leave because it agrees, generally, that the engagement of American business enhances our relationships with other countries and helps those countries themselves.
Engagement makes the world a better place. We all should want the world to continue to improve. Isolation and lack of engagement do not accomplish that goal. While we believe that it makes sense for the United States to push for constant improvement around the world — from advocating for human rights to fighting corruption — this is rarely accomplished through coercion, and, in fact, is enhanced by engagement.
We need to be prepared for emerging challenges and position ourselves to understand them. We created a new role — Head of Asia Pacific Policy and Strategic Competitiveness — to focus specifically on key policy issues critical to the firm’s (and, in fact, the country’s) competitiveness, such as trade restrictions, supply chains and infrastructure. We also created a new strategic security forum to focus on emerging and evolving risks, including trade wars, pandemics, cybersecurity and actual wars, to name just a few.

OUR EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS, INCLUDING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

JPMorgan Chase makes an extraordinary effort as part of our “normal” day-to-day outreach to engage with individual clients, small and midsized businesses, large and multinational firms, government officials, regulators and the press in cities all around the world. This dialogue is part of the normal course of business but it is also part of building trust and putting down roots in a community.

We believe that companies, and banks in particular, must earn the trust of the communities and countries in which they operate. We believe — and we are unashamed about this — that it is our obligation to help lift up the communities and countries in which we do business. We believe that doing so enhances business and the general economic well-being of those communities and countries and also enhances long-term shareholder value. JPMorgan Chase thrives when communities thrive.

This approach is integral to what we do, in great scale, around the world — and it works. We are quite clear that whether our efforts are inspired by the goodness of our hearts (as philanthropy or venture-type investing) or good business, we try to measure the actual outcomes.

It’s also interesting to point out that many of our efforts were spawned from our work around Advancing Black Pathways, Military and Veterans Affairs, and our work in Detroit. While we’ve banked Detroit for more than 90 years, our $200 million investment in its economic recovery over the last decade demonstrated that investing in communities is a smart business strategy. We are one of the largest banks in Detroit, from consumer banking to investment banking, and it’s quite clear that not only did our efforts help Detroit, but they also helped us gain market share. The extent of Detroit’s remarkable recovery was recently highlighted when Moody’s upgraded the city’s credit rating to investment grade — an extraordinary achievement just over 10 years after the city filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

For JPMorgan Chase, Detroit was an incubator for developing models that help us hone how we deploy our business resources, philanthropic capital, skilled volunteerism, and low-cost loans and equity investments, as well as how we identify top talent to drive successful business and societal improvements. I hope that, as shareholders, you are proud of our focus on promoting opportunity for all, both within and outside our organization, which includes economic opportunity. Some of our initiatives are listed below.

Business Resource Groups. To deepen our culture of inclusion in the workplace, we have 10 Business Resource Groups (BRG) across the company to connect more than 160,000 participating employees around common interests, as well as to foster networking and camaraderie. Groups welcome anyone — allies and those with shared affinities alike. For example, some of our largest BRGs are Access Ability (employees with disabilities and caregivers), Adelante (Hispanic and Latino employees), BOLD (Black employees), NextGen (early career professionals), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ employees) and Women on the Move.
Women on the Move. At JPMorgan Chase, they sure are! Women represent 28% of our firm’s senior leadership globally. In fact, our major lines of business — CCB, AWM and CIB, which would be among Fortune 1000 companies on their own — are all run by women (one with a co-head who is male). More than 10 years ago, a handful of senior women at the company, on their own, started this global, firmwide, internally focused organization called Women on the Move. It was so successful that we expanded the initiative beyond the company; it now empowers clients and consumers, as well as women employees and their allies, to build their careers, grow their businesses and improve their financial health. The Women on the Move BRG has more than 70,000 employees globally.
Advancing Black Pathways. This comprehensive program, which just reached the five-year mark, focuses on strengthening the economic foundation of Black communities because we know that opportunity is not always created equally. The program does so by, among other accomplishments, helping to diversify our talent pipeline, providing opportunities for Black individuals to enter the workforce and gain valuable experience, and investing in the financial success of Black Americans through a focus on financial health, homeownership and entrepreneurship. An important part of the program’s work is achieved through our investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). We now partner with 18 schools across the United States to boost recruitment connections, expand career pathways for Black students and other students, and support their long-term development and financial health. As a measure of the program’s success, in four years we have made nearly 400 hires into summer and full-time analyst and associate roles at the firm.
Military and Veterans Affairs. This firmwide effort sponsors recruitment, mentorship and development programs to support the military members and veterans working at JPMorgan Chase. Back in 2011, we joined with 10 other companies to launch the Veteran Jobs Mission (VJM), whose membership has since grown to more than 300 companies representing various industries across the United States and has hired over 900,000 veterans and military spouses. In 2023, VJM announced the creation of its Advisory Board, which is composed of 14 corporate leaders, to provide strategic direction and oversight of VJM as it continues to expand its commitment to support economic opportunities for veterans and military spouses, including its goal to hire 2 million veterans and 200,000 military spouses by 2030. JPMorgan Chase alone has hired in excess of 18,000 veterans since 2011 and currently employs more than 3,100 military spouses.
Creating opportunity for people with disabilities. The firm’s Office of Disability Inclusion continues to lead strategy and initiatives aimed at advancing economic opportunity for people with disabilities. In 2023, we joined lawmakers and business leaders in Washington, D.C., to show support for passage of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Savings Penalty Elimination Act. Modernizing the SSI program, by updating asset limits for the first time in nearly 40 years, would allow millions of people with disabilities who receive SSI benefits the opportunity to build their savings without putting their essential benefits at risk. We also provided business coaching to more than 370 entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Virtual call centers. When we sought to expand our customer service specialists program across the United States, we turned to Detroit, launching our first virtual call center in 2022. Investments in Detroit’s workforce development infrastructure helped us hire 90 virtual customer service specialists for a program that has outperformed many of our traditional call centers around the world. Following this success, we expanded our hiring efforts and this virtual program to Baltimore to create new jobs that jump-start careers. And now we’re evaluating the possibility of expanding even further.
Entrepreneurs of Color Fund. A critical challenge we have seen in so many communities is that traditional lending standards render too many entrepreneurs — particularly entrepreneurs of color and those serving these communities — ineligible for credit. In response, we helped launch the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund (EOCF) in Detroit, a lending program designed to help aspiring small business owners gain access to critical resources needed for growth that are often not equitably available — capital, technical assistance and mentorship, among others. These challenges aren’t unique to Detroit so we worked with community development financial institutions to replicate the EOCF program in 10 markets across the United States in 2023, deploying more than 2,900 loans and $176 million in capital to underserved entrepreneurs across the country.
Senior business consultants. To help entrepreneurs and small businesses make the transition from community lending to accessing capital from traditional financial institutions, we created a new job — senior business consultant — to provide support. Senior business consultants in branches that focus on underserved communities offer coaching and help business owners with everything from navigating access to credit to managing cash flow to generating effective marketing. Since 2020, these consultants have mentored more than 5,500 business owners, helping them improve their operations, grow revenue and network with others in the local business community.
Advancing Cities The organizing principles that define the business and community investments we make and how we best achieve an overall impact in local economies were heavily influenced by our experience in Detroit. Seeing Detroit’s comeback begin to take shape several years ago, we created Advancing Cities to replicate this model for large-scale investments to other cities around the world. From San Francisco to Paris to Greater Washington, D.C., we’ve applied what we learned in Detroit to communities where conditions are opportune for success and require deeper investments — where community, civic and business leaders have come together to solve problems and get results.
JPMorgan Chase Service Corps. Ten years ago, we launched the JPMorgan Chase Service Corps to strengthen the capacity-building of nonprofit partners. We brought employees from around the world to Detroit to assist with its recovery — from creating a scoring model for a nonprofit to helping prioritize neighborhoods for development funding to devising an implementation plan for an integrated talent management system. Since that time, the Service Corps has expanded, with more than 1,500 JPMorgan Chase employees contributing 100,000 hours to support over 300 nonprofits globally.
Community Centers/Branches and Community Managers. A local bank branch, especially in a low-income neighborhood, can be successful only when it fits the community’s needs. That is why over the last several years we have shifted our approach to how we offer access to financial health education, as well as low-cost products and services to help build wealth. Since 2019, we have opened 16 Community Center branches, often in areas with larger Black, Hispanic or Latino populations, and have plans to open three more by the end of 2024. These branches have more space to host grassroots community events, small business mentoring sessions and financial health seminars, which have been well-attended — to date, over 400,000 people have taken advantage of the financial education seminars. In each of these Community Center branches, we hired a Community Manager (who acts as a local ambassador) to build relationships with community leaders, nonprofits and small businesses. The Community Manager concept and practice have become so successful that we have also placed these managers in many of our traditional branches in underserved communities. We now have 149 Community Managers throughout our branch network.
Work skills development. Detroit showed us how talent in communities is often overlooked. We saw this in the early days of our investment when we visited our partners at Focus: HOPE, a training program designed to help Detroiters develop skills for high-demand jobs. Quickly, it became clear that the training and education system in Detroit was disconnected from employers and their talent needs. By investing in programs like Focus: HOPE, we have been able to help bridge local skills gaps by training people for in-demand jobs in communities like Dallas, Miami and Washington, D.C. Between 2019 and 2023, we supported more than 2 million people through our extensive learning and career programming around the world.
Increasing our rural investment. We are proud to be the only bank with branches in all 48 contiguous states, which include many rural communities. Nearly 17 million consumers living in rural areas hold over $100 billion in deposits with us and $175 billion in loans. We are also a leading wholesale lender in these communities, helping to fuel local economies through relationships with local companies, governments, hospitals and universities. Since 2019, we have made material progress in extending our footprint to reach more rural Americans, including expanding our branch network into 13 new states with large rural populations. Now we are raising the bar. With our new strategy, we have a goal to have a branch available to serve 50% of a state’s population within an acceptable driving distance, including in heavily rural states such as Alabama and Iowa. This focus is part of our recently announced plan to build an additional 500 branches and hire 3,500 employees over the next three years. Through this expansion, we will partner across lines of business and our Corporate Responsibility organization to help advance inclusive economic growth and bring the full force of the firm to America’s heartland.

We’ve nearly completed our five-year, $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment — it will now become a permanent part of our business.

What began in 2020 as a five-year, $30 billion commitment is now transforming into a consistent business practice for our lines of business in support of Black, Hispanic, Latino and other underserved communities. By the end of 2023, we reported over $30 billion in progress toward our original goal. However, our focus is not on how much money is deployed — but on long-term impact and outcomes. And going forward, these programs will be embedded in our business-as-usual operating system.

Affordable rental housing. Through our Affordable Housing Preservation program, we approved program funding to date of approximately $21 billion in loans to incentivize the preservation of over 190,000 affordable housing rental units across the United States. Additionally, we financed approximately $5 billion for the construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing.
Homeownership. In 2023, we expanded our $5,000 Chase Homebuyer Grant program to include over 15,000 majority Black, Hispanic and Latino communities — and in January 2024, we increased our grant amount to $7,500 in select markets. Since our grant program began in 2021, we have provided about 8,600 grants totaling $43 million. We also have provided home purchase and refinance loans in 2023 worth over $4.6 billion for more than 14,000 Black, Hispanic and Latino households across the economic spectrum.
Small business. The Business Card Special Purpose Credit Program, launched in January 2023, has provided over 10,900 cards, totaling over $43 million in available credit lines to underserved entrepreneurs and communities across the United States.
Supplier diversity. In 2023, our firm spent approximately $2.3 billion directly with diverse suppliers — an increase of 10% over 2022. As a part of our racial equity commitment, over $450 million was spent in 2023 with more than 190 Black-, Hispanic- and Latino-owned businesses.
Minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions. To date, we have invested more than $110 million in equity in diverse financial institutions and provided over $260 million in incremental financing to community development financial institutions to support communities that lack access to traditional financing. JPMorgan Chase also helped these institutions build their capacity so they can provide a greater number of critical services like mortgages and small business loans.

We’re thoughtfully continuing our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Of course, JPMorgan Chase will conform as the laws evolve. We will scour our programs, our words and our actions to make sure they comply.

That said, we think all the efforts mentioned above will remain largely unchanged. And, in fact, around the world, cities and communities where we do business applaud these efforts. We also believe our initiatives make us a more inclusive company and lead to more innovation, smarter decisions and better financial results for us and for the economy overall.

We are often asked in particular about “equity” and what that word means. To us, it means equal treatment, equal opportunity and equal access … not equal outcomes. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging and trying to bridge social and economic gaps, whether they be around wealth or health. We would like to provide a fair chance for everyone to succeed — regardless of their background. And we want to make sure everyone who works at our company feels welcome.

We want to articulate how we weigh in on social issues and what it means for our customers.

Before I comment about culture issues, I have a confession to make: I am a full-throated, red-blooded, patriotic, free-enterprise (properly regulated, of course) and free-market capitalist. Our company is frequently asked to take a position on an issue, rule or legislation that might be considered “cultural.” When that happens, we take a deep breath and study the matter. Many of the laws in question have many specific requirements, some of which you would agree with but not others. But we are being asked to support the entire law. In cases like these, we simply make our own statement that reflects our educated view and values; however, we do not give our voice to others.

We believe in the values of democracy, including freedom of speech and expression, and are staunchly against discrimination and hate. We have not turned away — and will not turn away — customers because of their political or religious affiliations nor would we tell customers how they should spend their money.

Our commitment to these ideals is also reflected in our employees. The talent at our firm is a vibrant mix of cultures, beliefs and backgrounds. We are, of course, fully committed to freedom of speech. There are things that you can say that would be permitted under freedom of speech but would not be allowed under our Code of Conduct. For example, we do not allow intimidation, threats or highly prejudicial behavior or speech. Our Code of Conduct clearly stipulates that certain statements and behavior, while allowed under freedom of speech, can lead to disciplinary action at our company — from being reprimanded to being fired.

WHAT WE LEARNED: A FIVE-POINT ACTION PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE

In May 2023, we gathered with knowledgeable and influential people from the energy industry writ large to the government and financial services arena in Scottsdale, Arizona, for an action forum. The goal was to explore various aspects of the climate challenge and try to devise effective solutions that could help lead to meaningful progress. The climate challenge is immense and complex. Addressing it requires more than making simplistic statements and rules; rather, energy systems and global supply chains need to be transformed across virtually all industries. And there is also a deep need for new research and development. Energy systems and supply chains provide the foundation of the global economy and must be treated with care.

At the same time, the opportunity here is immense. The investment required to meet climate goals — estimated at over $5 trillion annually — could generate economywide growth and opportunity at a scale the world has not seen since the Industrial Revolution.

The task for industry, policymakers and finance is to help formulate solutions that support the transition to a low-carbon economy, balancing affordable, reliable access to energy with generating economic growth.

To find a way forward, we sought input from diverse stakeholders in pursuit of a North Star. In Scottsdale and in discussions with clients across industries about what’s needed to achieve a low-carbon economy, these five action steps and reforms were top of mind:

Supportive government policy and leadership to advance the transition. Policy that promotes favorable economic conditions to make the transition viable is a critical first step for clients. This includes government leadership via mandates, incentives or subsidies to support jobs and investment in the transition; actions on permitting and interconnection reform; and regulatory clarity and certainty, especially around long-term investments. As one vital example, current grid infrastructure is insufficient to accommodate the growth in renewables.
Public/private partnerships in scaling bankable projects. Scaling investments needs to happen both for commercially proven technologies (e.g., wind and solar) and for emerging technologies (e.g., green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel and carbon capture). Developing “bankable” clean energy projects will require the application of smart financial tools, as well as further policy support. It will take public/private partnerships and innovation to create catalytic forms of capital that can step into these gaps, absorb first-mover risks and provide the necessary funding. The cost of capital is too high for some companies — and public funds ought to be deployed in a smart way that effectively attracts private capital.
Public education and engagement. Without question, clients told us that public commitment to and investment in energy-related infrastructure is one of the most important parts of combating the climate crisis and running their businesses. Supporting the buildout of energy-related infrastructure with speed and scale is critical. Public acceptance of building and advancing the infrastructure needed to meet climate goals is at the heart of progress. While the energy transition is poised to deliver benefits to communities across the world, securing acceptance and support to build clean energy infrastructure at scale is challenging. Access to job-creating renewable energy projects can help rural communities thrive by advancing local economies. Ensuring public support and social license to operate requires better engagement strategies, including widespread stakeholder education about the benefits of these technologies for local communities.
Communication about concrete successes. Across industries, market participants need to do a better job of celebrating and championing concrete successes and tangible milestones. This includes highlighting success stories around emerging technologies and the complex nature of the carbon transition. Stakeholders also should better convey the benefits of clean energy — across all technologies — to help combat misinformation and foster a more informed dialogue.
Work skills training. Businesses depend on healthy, thriving communities so the carbon transition needs to work for everyone. This includes helping to ensure that workers are trained in the skills for the future, such as through improved engineering schools and job training programs. Work across the entire supply chain is essential to moving at pace. As one example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates we will need more than 70,000 additional electricians per year through 2031; it is currently unclear how the market will meet that demand. If the deployment of heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers accelerates, demand for electricians will be even higher. A concerted focus to train electricians can help the United States meet some of its climate goals while providing well-paying jobs that do not require a four-year college degree. Also, broadly speaking, businesses are in a better position to make investments with confidence when labor requirements across the value chain — from design and manufacturing to installation — are satisfied.

We recently reconsidered certain memberships.

JPMorgan Chase recently exited Climate Action 100+ and the Equator Principles. “Why?” we are asked. While we don’t necessarily disagree with some of the principles many organizations have, we make our own business decisions. We think we have some of the best-in-class environmental, social and risk standards because we have invested in our own in-house experts and matured our own risk management processes over the years. As a result, we are going to go our own way and make our own independent decisions, gathering the best learnings of experts in the field, and, of course, we will follow all legal requirements.

We are engaged but recognize our role: three more important points.

First, everyone should understand that conquering the climate problem needs proper government action, particularly around taxes, permitting, grids, infrastructure building and proper coordination of policies — we are not there yet. Second, there is no known technology that can fill the gap between our “aspirations” and the current trajectory of the world. We hope and believe that this will be found (for example, through carbon capture, improved batteries, hydrogen or other measures). This new technology will also require proper government research and development funding, as the effort cannot be accomplished by private enterprise alone. And third, we are going to use the word “commitment” much more reservedly in the future, clearly differentiating between aspirations we are actively striving toward and binding commitments.

For JPMorgan Chase to play the right role in tackling the climate challenge, we have organized a special group around the green economy and related infrastructure investment. This group will coordinate and inform our work across all established industry groups (from auto to real estate, energy, agriculture and others) and includes hundreds of employees devoted to these efforts.

POWERING ECONOMIC GROWTH IN FLORIDA

From Tallahassee to Miami and from Tampa to Palm Bay, JPMorgan Chase has been committed to Florida for more than 130 years and has enjoyed being the bank for all communities. Each year, we contribute billions of dollars to the economy, hire and train local residents, help to revitalize neighborhoods and remove barriers to opportunity for Floridians across the state. Our partnerships with businesses, nonprofits, government entities and community organizations have enabled us to drive sustainable impact and help them achieve their goals. We couldn’t be more proud to help make opportunity happen in Florida.

This year, we forged a relationship with Inter Miami CF, one of the most recognizable sports teams in the world. Through this partnership and the newly named Chase Stadium, we’re continuing to contribute to South Florida and its local communities. In Tampa, home to nearly 6,000 of our employees, we’re triggering an additional $210 million in economic activity and creating over 660 local construction jobs through the renovation of our Highland Oaks campus and downtown Tampa office. We’re proud that one-third of all Floridians do business with us through deposits, credit cards or a mortgage. Through each of our investments across the state, we’re ensuring that residents have the resources and tools they need to thrive.

Our support to government, higher education, healthcare and nonprofit organizations:

We serve over 150 government, higher education, healthcare and nonprofit clients throughout the state, and over the last five years, we have provided more than $20.2 billion in credit and capital to them.
Our clients range from the city of Jacksonville to the Orlando Utilities Commission, the University of South Florida, Broward Health and the District School Board of Pasco County — a decades-long client.
We are the lead treasury bank for the Wounded Warrior Project, one of the largest veteran service organizations in the United States. Headquartered in Jacksonville, the organization caters to wounded veterans and service members who served in the military on or after 9/11.

Our support to investment and middle-market banking clients:

Over the last five years, we have provided in excess of $318 billion in credit and capital to local clients, such as utility, technology and tourism companies.
We have more than 12,500 large and midsized clients across the state.

Our support to local financial firms:

Over the last five years, we have provided more than $24 billion in credit and capital for financial institutions, such as local banks, insurance companies, asset managers and securities firms.
We bank over 50 of Florida’s regional, midsized and community banks, helping them play an essential role in maintaining the state’s economy and serve local communities.

Our support to small business:

At the end of 2023, balances for loans extended to Florida’s small businesses totaled more than $1.2 billion — funds being used to help those businesses scale and grow, contribute to the economy and create local jobs.
Across the state, we have over 654,000 small business customers.
In 2023, our bankers and senior business consultants spent more than 375,000 hours advising and supporting Florida business owners.

Our support to consumer banking needs:

We operate 1,445 ATMs and 410 branches across the state.
In 2023, we supported more than 6.1 million customers with mortgages, auto loans and savings, checking and credit card accounts, giving JPMorgan Chase one of the largest consumer banking market shares in the state.
We managed more than $70 billion in investment and annuity assets for local clients.

Our business and community investments:

$3 million to The Miami Foundation’s Resilient 305: Building Prosperity Collaborative to increase access to quality jobs and develop small businesses through training, investments and capacity-building.
$1.6 million to the Community Justice Project, which empowers community-based legal advocates to help delay displacement and improve conditions for housing stability for renters across nine Florida counties.
A $1 million investment to Florida Memorial University, South Florida’s only HBCU, to help traditionally underresourced students pursue a career in technology.

Our support as a local employer:

We employ more than 14,000 residents throughout the state, including nearly 1,900 veterans and over 660 people with a criminal background who deserve a second chance.
In Florida, the average salary of our employees is more than $87,000 (plus a starting comprehensive annual benefits package worth nearly $17,600) compared with the statewide per capita income of nearly $40,300.

GIVING THE BANK REGULATORY AND SUPERVISORY PROCESS A SERIOUS REVIEW

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) was finished 14 years ago, and we believe it accomplished a lot of good things. But it’s been quite a while since then, and we’re still debating some very basic issues. It’s time to take a serious, hard, honest look at what has been done and what can be improved.

It’s good to remember that the United States has the best financial system in the world, with diversified, deep and experienced institutions, from banks, pension plans, hedge funds and private equity to individual investors. It has healthy public and private markets, transparency, rule of law and deep research. The best banking system in the world is a critical part of this, and, integrated with the overall financial system, is foundational to the proper allocation of capital, innovation and the fueling of America’s growth engine.

This is not about JPMorgan Chase — we believe we can manage through whatever is thrown our way. This is about the impact on all parts of the system — from smaller banks to larger regional banks that may not have the resources to handle all of these regulatory requirements. It’s also about the effect on the financial markets and the economy from the rapidly growing shadow banking system, as well as the ultimate impact on the customers, clients and communities we serve. This is about what’s right for the system.

The banking and financial system is innovative, dynamic and constantly changing.

The banking system is not static: There are startup banks, mergers, successful upstarts and fintech banks, and even Apple, which effectively acts as a bank — it holds money, moves money, lends money and so on. Nonbanks are competing with traditional banks, and, in general, this dynamism and churn are good for innovation and invention — with success and failure simply part of the robust process. Innovation runs across payments systems, budgeting, digital access, product extensions, risk and fraud prevention, and other services. Different institutions play different roles, and, importantly, small banks and big banks serve completely different strategic functions. Large banks bank multinational corporations around the world, make healthy markets, and wield technology and a product set that are the best in the world. A small bank simply cannot bank these same multinational governments and safely move the amount of money and securities that large banks do. Regional and community banks have exceptional local knowledge and presence and are critical in serving thousands of towns and certain geographies.

It is also important to recognize that the banking system as we know it is shrinking relative to private markets and fintech, which are growing and becoming increasingly competitive. And remember that many of these new players do not have the same transparency or need to abide by the extensive rules and regulations as traditional banks, even if they offer similar products — this often gives them significant advantage.

To deal with this fluid environment, banks of all sizes develop their own strategies, whether to specialize, expand geographically or embark on mergers and acquisitions. There are certain banking services where economies of scale are a competitive advantage, but not all banks need to become bigger to gain this benefit (there are many highly successful banks that are smaller). What is clear is that banks should be allowed to pursue their individual strategies, including mergers and acquisitions, as they see fit. Overall, this process should be allowed to happen — it’s part of the natural and healthy course of capitalism — and it can be done without harming the American taxpayer or economy.

While we all want a strong banking and financial system, we should step back and assess how all the regulatory steps we have taken measure up against the goals we all share. Since Dodd-Frank was signed into law in 2010, thousands of rules and reporting requirements written by 10+ different regulatory bodies in the United States alone have been added. And it would probably be an understatement to say that some are duplicative, inconsistent, procyclical, contradictory, extremely costly, and unnecessarily painful for both banks and regulators. Many of the rules have unintended consequences that are not desirable and have negative impacts, such as increasing the cost of credit for consumers (hurting lower-income Americans the most).

The whole process, including the Basel III endgame, could be much more productive, streamlined, economical, efficient and safe.

Both regulators and banks should want the same thing — a healthy banking system, serving its clients and striving for continuous improvement. We all should also want the enormous benefits that would come from good collaboration between regulators and bank management teams and boards.

Over time, these relationships have deteriorated, and, again, are increasingly less constructive. There is little real collaboration between practitioners — the banks — and regulators, who generally have not been practitioners in business. While we acknowledge the dedication of regulators who work with banks on a daily basis, management teams across the industry are putting in a disproportionate amount of time addressing requests for extra details, documentation and processes that extend far beyond the actual rules — and distract both regulators and management from more critical work. We should be more focused on the truly important risks for the safety of the system. And unfortunately, without collaboration and sufficient analysis, it is hard to be confident that regulation will accomplish desired outcomes without undesirable consequences. Instead of constantly improving the system, we may be making it worse. A few additional points:

The Basel III endgame disadvantages American banks. The Basel III endgame has been 10 years in the making, and it still has not been completed. In my view, many of the rules are flawed and poorly calibrated. If the Basel III endgame were implemented in its current form, it would hamper American banks: As proposed, it would increase our firm’s required capital by 25%, making our requirement 30% higher than it would be under the equivalent European Union proposal. That means for every loan and asset financed in the United States by a major American bank, that bank would have to hold 30% more capital than any international competitor. The proposed regulations would also damage market making (see the following section). There are many other flaws but suffice it to say that much of the work being done today to analyze the effects should have been done before the proposed rulemaking. One of the single most important lessons from the great financial crisis is that there is enormous value to having a bank that is well-managed and has diverse revenue sources. Yet regulation since then both punishes consolidation and diversification — and punishes performance — through many features of the GSIB surcharge.
Built over many years, the framework is now full of duplication. The following is only a partial list: American gold-plating and conceptual inconsistencies among Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR), recovery and resolution plans, liquidity requirements, global systemically important bank (GSIB) requirements, and safety and soundness principles. The many overlapping rules contribute to the bureaucracy that generates an extraordinary amount of make-work (an 80,000-page CCAR and shockingly another, coincidentally, 80,000-page recovery and resolution plan).
The new rules do virtually nothing to fix what caused the failure of SVB and First Republic. For example, they don’t improve certain liquidity requirements, limit HTM accounting or reduce allowable interest rate exposure.
The current regulatory approach to liquidity might simply run counter to the stated intent. Regulations should recognize the value and importance of lending and borrowing against good collateral and using central bank resources, such as the discount window. Adhering to current liquidity requirements permanently ties up good liquidity in a way that makes the system more fragile and more risky.
It is not clear what the full intent of the Basel III endgame was – it will have unintended consequences. Without real analysis of expected outcomes, additional regulation will likely reduce the number of banks offering certain services and increase costs for all market participants and activity, including loans, market making and hedging (by farmers, airlines and countries, among others). And new rules might even increase consolidation as companies race to achieve economies of scale in certain products and services.

Unfortunately, some recent regulations are ending up in court. You can imagine that no one wants to sue their regulators. Banks would not sue if they did not think they were right — or if they thought they had any other recourse — which they effectively do not. This is definitely not what anyone should want. A more constructive relationship with regulators would reduce confusion and uncertainty and would lead to better outcomes for banks, their shareholders, and their clients, customers and communities.

Collaboration between banks and regulators could improve the use of resources and create better outcomes.

True collaboration could dramatically improve the banking system. For example:

Redirect enormous resources from things that don’t matter to things that do. As mentioned, it takes 80,000 pages to describe a CCAR test and 80,000 pages to detail recovery and resolution. The talent and resources at the banks and regulators could be better used elsewhere. Such overload is distracting and takes your eye off the ball on real, emerging risks, including China, trade, payment systems and cybersecurity, among others.
Reduce bureaucratic processes that provoke a tendency to herd mentality. For example, CCAR is just a point-in-time stress test, and it can lull you into a false sense of security — for reference, we do more than 100 stress tests each week. On interest rate exposure, focusing on the documentation of details may stop you from thinking about big interest rate exposure. Sometimes analyzing “what ifs” and fat tail risks is better than excessive and rigid models and documentations.
Examine risks outside the regulatory system that are rarely analyzed and largely unaddressed. These risks include data and privacy, as well as consumer banking and payment systems, which are growing fast in the unregulated market. In addition, there are potential risks from private credit markets (which I talk about later in this section).
Let’s imagine what’s possible with real collaboration. Working together, we can improve how the FDIC manages failing institutions, how to limit contagion and restore confidence to depositors, how liquidity requirements can create more flexible funding for banks under stress, how the banking and Federal Reserve’s payment system can become more interoperable, how clearinghouse risk can be reduced, how stress tests can protect the system from a wider variety of outcomes, how costs and therefore consumer costs can be reduced (not increased), how anti-money laundering requirements can be simplified and improved at the same time, and how financial products can be brought to the unbanked. We can fix the housing and mortgage markets. For example, mortgage regulations around origination, servicing and securitization could be simplified, without increasing risk, in a way that would reduce the average mortgage by 70 or 80 basis points. The Urban Institute estimates that a reduction like this would increase mortgage originations by 1 million per year and help lower-income households, in particular, buy their first home, thereby starting them on the best way to build household net worth. There are many more things that can be improved — and we really should start working on them.

We need a detailed review and probably a complete revamp.

I know this might be wishful thinking, but now would be a good time to step back and have a thorough and candid review of the thousands of new rules passed since Dodd-Frank. After this review, we should ask what is it that we really want: Do we want to try to eliminate the possibility of bank runs? Do we want to change and create liquidity rules that would essentially back most uninsured deposits? Do we want the mortgage business and leveraged lending business to be inside or outside the banking system? Do we want products that are inside and outside the banking system to be regulated the same way? Do we want to reasonably give smaller banks a leg up in purchasing a failing bank? And while Dodd-Frank did some good things, shouldn’t we take a look at the huge overlapping jurisdictions of various regulators? This overlap creates difficulties, not only for banks, but for the regulators, too. Any and all of this is achievable, and, I believe, could be accomplished with simpler rules and guidelines and without stifling our critical banking system.

PROTECTING THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF MARKET MAKING (TRADING)

Before we discuss market making and financial markets, readers should understand that market making occurs in almost all businesses. There are healthy markets in farm animals, foreign products, commodities, energy, logistics, healthcare and so on. Healthy markets increase customer choice and reduce cost. They almost always involve holding inventory and taking some risk, which is simply a part of the process. America’s financial markets are the biggest in the world — U.S. public debt and equity markets total $137 trillion, constituting the biggest “market” in the world, and are larger than America’s gross domestic product (GDP) of $27 trillion.

Market participants are not “Wall Street.” They are large and small, mainly sophisticated, global investors (pension plans, mutual funds, governments and individuals) representing retirees, veterans, individuals, unions, federal workers and others. They all benefit from our efficient, low-cost and transparent markets.

Some regulators seem to think that market making is a speculative, hedge fund-like activity — and this thinking is what might be leading them to constantly increase capital requirements. The proposed capital rules could fundamentally alter market-making activities that are critical to a thriving economy, particularly in difficult markets when market making is even more important . The new rules would raise capital requirements by 50% for major banks — which could undermine market stability, make banking services costlier and less accessible, and push even more activity to a less regulated banking system.

Our financial system and markets are the best in the world and benefit ALL participants; exceptionally good market making in the secondary market makes our primary markets the best in the world.

We should recognize that the United States has the biggest, deepest and most liquid capital markets in the world. For these markets to function, it is critical for transparency and liquidity to be in the secondary market . Market making provides this, promoting the flow of capital to real economy investments and supporting all sectors of the economy, including companies, state and local governments, universities, hospitals, pension plans and overall job creation. Without market making in the secondary market, it would be extremely difficult for companies to raise capital through the primary market — equity and debt offerings — which have totaled approximately $3.6 trillion on average over the past few years. The incredible strength of these markets enables companies of all sizes to grow and expand especially during times of volatility and stress. It also enables consumers to access cheaper credit and governments (local, state and federal) to reduce their borrowing costs.

JPMorgan Chase spends $700 million per year in extensive research coverage of nearly 5,200 companies across 83 countries. This massive effort continuously educates investors and decision makers around the world and often leads to improved governance and management. It also critically complements the firm’s market-making activities and further promotes transparency, enabling investors to make thoughtful choices around investing in capital markets.

I would also like our shareholders to know that our market making is backed by approximately $7 billion in support expenses, including over $2 billion in technology spend alone each year. This investment allows us to maintain global trading systems and constantly improve upon risk management and efficiency.

JPMorgan Chase deploys approximately $70 billion in capital to maintain our Markets franchise. This capital supports $500 billion in securities inventory (largely hedged) — and this inventory allows us to buy and sell $2 trillion (notional) in securities daily for our clients.

Market making entails risk but is not particularly speculative.

The main objective of market makers is to continuously quote prices and diligently manage an inventory to transact at those prices, which includes assuming certain risks to support heavy volumes and orderly trading. Market makers have a moral obligation to try to make markets in good times and in bad. Part of our brand promise is to stand ready as the willing buyer and seller. In this, we have never failed. In addition, in most cases regarding government debt, where we serve as a government securities dealer, we are legally obligated to make markets. This constant visibility into prices provided by market makers fosters investor confidence, keeps fees low and promotes economic growth by attracting more investors.

Many large market participants — for example, hedge funds and high-frequency traders, among others — have no obligation to make markets. In fact, many of these market participants often “step out” of the markets and dramatically reduce liquidity specifically when market conditions are difficult.

Market making is not particularly speculative since market makers generally hedge their positions, as you will see from some real life examples of the economics and risks. We earn revenue of approximately $100 million on a typical day. In the average year, the total is nearly $30 billion. On our $2 trillion in notional daily trading, this amounts to only one hundredth of a cent charged to the investor for these services — an extraordinarily low cost compared with any other market in the world.

Now let’s take a look at the actual risk and results versus the hypothetical risk and results. The hypothetical global market shock of the CCAR stress test has us losing $18 billion in a single day and never recovering any of it. Let’s compare that to actual losses under real, actual market stress.

Now consider these historical data points: First, over the last 10 years, the firm’s market-making business has never had a quarterly loss and has lost money on only 30 trading days. These loss days represent only 1% of total trading days, and the average loss on those days was $90 million. Second, when markets completely collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic (from March 2 through March 31, 2020, the stock market fell 16%, and bond spreads gapped out dramatically), J.P. Morgan’s market-making activities made money every day prior to the Federal Reserve’s major interventions, which stabilized the markets. During that entire month, we lost money on only two days but made $2.5 billion in Markets revenue for the month. And third, in the worst quarter ever in the markets following the 2008 failure of Lehman Brothers, we lost $1.7 billion, but we made $5.6 billion in Markets revenue for the full year. The firm as a whole did not lose money in any quarter that year. In 2009, there was a complete recovery in Markets, and we made $22 billion in Markets revenue.

You can see that our actual performance under extreme stress isn’t even close to the hypothetical losses of the stress test.

Another major fallacy is that derivatives are objects of financial destruction. In reality, derivatives are an essential part of managing financial risk and are used by investors, corporations, farmers, businesses, countries, governments and others to manage their risks. And more than 85% of derivatives are fairly basic forms of foreign exchange or interest rate swaps.

One last fallacy is that the repo markets are all about speculation. While it’s true that repo is used by certain investors to leverage up their positions, about 75% of repo is essential to normal money market functioning, i.e., is done by broker-dealers financing their actual inventory positions, money market funds investing their cash backed by highly rated collateral and clients hedging their positions.

Market makers add confidence, liquidity and transparency to U.S. capital markets — market making helps stabilize markets and can reduce volatility.

In addition, more liquidity, not less liquidity, will be needed to maintain market stability. Large banks keep an inventory of securities they can deploy in times of stress to help soothe markets; however, with the implementation of new regulations, banks now hold 70% as much inventory in securities as they did before the 2008 financial crisis, while the total size of the market has almost tripled. Higher capital requirements will accelerate this trend even further, impacting banks’ ability to deliver support to clients and markets in times when it is needed the most.

Washington’s Basel III endgame proposal damages market making, hurts Americans and drives activity to less transparent, less regulated markets.

If this proposal is enacted as drafted:

Everyday consumer goods could be impacted. Households contending with inflation could also feel the effects of higher capital requirements on market-making activities when they shop. From beverage companies that need to manage aluminum costs to farms that need to protect against environmental risks, if the cost of hedging those risks increases, it could be reflected in what consumers pay for everything from a can of soda to meat products.
Mortgages and small business loans will be more expensive. Consumers seeking a mortgage — including first-time homebuyers and historically underserved, low- to moderate-income borrowers with smaller down payments — will face higher interest rates or will have a tougher time accessing one. This will occur not only because the cost of originating and holding these loans is higher but also because the cost of securitizing them will rise for banks, nonbanks and government agencies. Not only that, but the proposal will likely lead to reductions in the size of unfunded credit card lines, which will put pressure on FICO scores and thereby make it more difficult for some people to access other forms of retail credit such as mortgages. Again, this will have the greatest impact on low- to moderate-income borrowers who rely most heavily on credit cards for day-to-day spending and to build their credit history. It could even be argued that existing regulations go too far and that there is an opportunity to help underserved communities by dialing down regulations that lead to higher borrowing costs. This should be studied and the pros and cons analyzed. The same can be said for small business loans, which will become more expensive and less accessible.
Saving for retirement or college will be harder. The cost of products that families count on to save for retirement or college will go up as a result of this proposal. Asset managers, money market funds and pension funds all buy, sell and safekeep securities and other financial instruments for American investors. Under the proposed rules, the cost of banking products used on behalf of clients each day — including brokerage, advisory, clearing and custody services — will go up and feed through to customers. That will lead to lower returns on retirement accounts, college funds and other long-term savings.
Government infrastructure projects and corporate development will become more expensive. Federal, state and local governments, as well as corporations and other institutions, rely on large banks for access to U.S. capital markets to fund development. If accessing capital markets becomes more expensive, it will have a ripple effect on the hiring of American workers, investment in research and development, and funding to build hospitals, roads and bridges, including the planned infrastructure projects from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

More market activity will move to unregulated institutions, out of sight from regulators and without the same level of consumer protections that Americans expect from their banks. Other market participants that don’t have holistic client relationships are less likely to provide liquidity to help stabilize markets.

In volatile times, banks have been able to intermediate to help their clients and to work with the regulators. With new regulations, they may be less able to do so. There have been several times in the past few years where banks had ample liquidity and capital but were unable to rapidly increase their intermediation in the markets due to very rigid liquidity and capital requirements. Finally, the proposed rules increase the chance that the Federal Reserve will have to step in again — and this is not something they should want to do on a regular basis but only in an extreme emergency.

Staying Competitive in the Shrinking Public Markets

In previous letters, I have described the diminishing role of public companies in the American financial system. From their peak in 1996 at 7,300, U.S. public companies now total 4,300 — the total should have grown dramatically, not shrunk. Meanwhile, the number of private U.S. companies backed by private equity firms — which does not include the rising number of companies owned by sovereign wealth funds and family offices — has grown from 1,900 to 11,200 over the last two decades. This trend is serious and may very well increase with more regulation and litigation coming. Along with a frank assessment of the regulation landscape, we really need to consider: Is this the outcome we want?

There are good reasons for private markets, and some good outcomes result from them. For example, companies can stay private longer if they wish and raise more and different types of capital without going to the public markets. However, taking a wider view, I fear we may be driving companies from the public markets. The reasons are complex and may include factors such as intensified reporting requirements (including investors’ growing needs for environmental, social and governance information), higher litigation expenses, costly regulations, cookie-cutter board governance, shareholder activism, less compensation flexibility, less capital flexibility, heightened public scrutiny and the relentless pressure of quarterly earnings.

Along with the universal proxy — which makes it easier to put poorly qualified directors on a board — the pressures to retreat from the public market are mounting. In addition, corporate governance principles are becoming more and more templated and formulaic, a negative trend. For example, proxy advisors may automatically judge directors unfavorably if they have a long tenure on the board, without a fair assessment of their actual contributions or experience. Another example is the constant battle by some proxy advisors who try to split the chairman and CEO role when there is no evidence this makes a company better off — in fact, today, lead directors generally hold most of the authorities previously assigned to the chairman. The governance of major corporations is evolving away from guidance by governance principles that focus on a company’s relationship to long-term economic value toward a bureaucratic compliance exercise. Good corporate governance is critical, and a little common sense would go a long way.

THE PRESSURE OF QUARTERLY EARNINGS COMPOUNDED BY BAD ACCOUNTING AND BAD DECISIONS

There is something very positive about detailed and disciplined quarterly financial and operating reporting. But company CEOs and boards of directors should resist the undue pressure of quarterly earnings, and it is clearly somewhat their fault when they don’t. However, it is naïve to think that the pressure doesn’t exist because companies that “disappoint” can face extensive criticism, particularly those with a new or young CEO. It’s possible for companies to take short-term actions to increase earnings, such as selling more product cheaply at the end of a quarter, cutting certain investments that may be terrific but can show accounting losses in the first year or two, or just deploying more aggressive accounting methods at times. Once shortcuts like this begin, people all over the company understand that it is okay to “stretch” to meet your numbers. This could put you on a treadmill to ruin. Obviously, a company should not resort to these tactics, but it does happen in the public markets — and it’s probably less likely in the private markets.

THE HIJACKING OF ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS

One of the reasons it is less desirable to be a public company is because of the spiraling frivolousness of the annual shareholder meeting, which has devolved into mostly a showcase of grandstanding and competing special interest groups. We should treat shareholders with tremendous respect — and we do. At JPMorgan Chase, we are constantly talking with our investors — our directors, our lead director and our corporate governance experts visit most of our major investors whether they be direct owners or asset managers who manage the money for others. Meeting with your shareholders and investors is critical, but the annual shareholder meeting itself has become ineffective. We should try to come up with a far more constructive alternative.

THE UNDUE INFLUENCE OF PROXY ADVISORS

There are essentially two main proxy advisors in the United States. One is called Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), and the second is called Glass Lewis. These proxy advisors started out providing reams of data from companies to help their institutional investor clients vote on proxy matters (information on executive compensation, stock returns, detail on directors, policies and so on). However, they soon also began to provide advice on how shareholders should vote on proxy matters. And, in fact, institutional investors generally execute their voting on an ISS or Glass Lewis platform, which often includes a clear statement of the advisory service’s position.

I should also point out, because it may be relevant, that ISS is owned by Deutsche Boerse, a German company, and Glass Lewis is owned by Peloton Capital, a Canadian private equity firm. I question whether American corporate governance should be determined by for-profit international institutions that may have their own strong feelings about what constitutes good corporate governance.

While asset managers and institutional investors have a fiduciary responsibility to make their own decisions, it is increasingly clear that proxy advisors have undue influence.

Asset managers (who manage money on behalf of others) and institutional investors (e.g., pension plans and endowments) may rely on a variety of information sources to support their valuation decision-making process. While data and recommendations may form pieces of the information mosaic, their votes should ultimately be based on an independent application of their own voting guidelines and policies. To the extent they use recommendations from proxy advisors in their decision-making processes, they should disclose that they do so and should be satisfied that the information upon which they are relying is accurate and relevant. However, many companies would argue that this information is frequently not balanced, not representative of the full view and not accurate. In addition, companies complain that they often cannot get the data corrected, and, therefore, a vote may go uncorrected.

Almost all asset managers receive proxy advisor data and recommendations; while some asset managers vote completely independently of this information, the majority do not. Most asset managers have formed corporate governance or stewardship committees that are responsible for their voting, and these committee positions are often held not by portfolio managers and research analysts (i.e., the people buying and analyzing the individual securities) but by stewardship experts. While it is good to have stewardship experts, the reality is that many of these committees default large portions of what they do to proxy advisors and, more troubling, make it harder for actual portfolio managers to override this decision making.

Some have argued that it’s too hard and too expensive to review the large number of proxies and proxy proposals — this is both lazy and wrong. If issues are important to a company, they should be important to the shareholder — for the most part, only a handful of proposals are important to companies.

We are making enhancements to J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s proxy voting processes to amplify the role of portfolio managers and to address the perception of asset managers’ reliance on third-party advisor voting recommendations.

Enhancements to the firm’s internal proxy voting process will include:

More portfolio manager participation in proxy committee decision making. The firm has significantly expanded the representation of portfolio managers on its North American Proxy Committee in an effort to increase the diversity of viewpoints represented on the committee. As part of this change, and in recognition that portfolio managers, as fiduciaries, may differ in their views on how to vote on particular proposals depending on a mandate’s investment strategy and guidelines, we are broadening our capabilities to support voting results that may vary across our platform.
Diminished role of proxy advisor recommendations. J.P. Morgan Asset Management makes its own independent proxy voting decisions (based on deep fundamental research) and stands behind the depth and rigor of its processes and historical information advantage. In most cases, the firm will only use proxy advisory firms for research, data and technical mechanics of vote transmission and not for outsourced recommendations. By the end of 2024, J.P. Morgan Asset Management generally will have eliminated third-party proxy advisor voting recommendations from its internally developed voting systems. Additionally, the firm will work with third-party proxy voting advisors to remove their voting recommendations from research reports they provide to J.P. Morgan Asset Management by the 2025 proxy season.
Other enhancements. We are working to give a company and its management even greater access to the ultimate decision makers; to raise critical issues to a company as early as possible in a constructive and proactive way; and to be willing to tell companies how we have voted once our decision is made rather than waiting until votes are finally counted.

Taken together, these steps are designed to respond to a growing perception (and, I believe, reality) that the asset management industry generally places undue reliance on proxy advisors in how proxies are voted. We believe these actions will strengthen our relationships with our clients and with companies while helping to build trust between shareholders, investors and companies.

THE BENEFITS AND RISKS OF PRIVATE CREDIT

I have already mentioned some of the benefits of private credit, and I’ll now mention some more. Many people in the private credit arena are very smart and creative and want to help the companies they invest in navigate through market shoals. They can move quickly, discreetly and flexibly. Most generally understand that bad accounting drives bad decisions, and their goal is to make the right decisions for the future of the company.

On the other hand, not all players are that good. And problems in the private credit market caused by the bad players can leak onto the good ones, even though private credit money is locked up for years. If investors feel mistreated, they will cry foul, and the government will respond by putting a laser focus on the business. It’s a reasonable assumption that at some point regulations will focus on the private markets as they do on the public markets.

This scrutiny will include a look at how private credit values its assets, which isn’t as transparent as public market valuations. In addition, private market loans commonly lack liquidity in the secondary market and are not generally supported by in-depth market research.

New financial products that grow extremely rapidly often become an area of unexpected risk in the markets. Frequently, the weaknesses of new products, in this case private credit loans, may only be seen and exposed in bad markets, which private credit loans have not yet faced. When credit spreads gap out, when interest rates go up and when some leveraged companies suffer in the recession, we will find out how those loans survive stress testing. In addition, they can create a little bit of a “credit crunch” for borrowers since it might be hard for private creditors to roll over loans under those conditions. Under stress conditions, private creditors would have to charge exorbitant prices that companies simply cannot afford in order to book the new loan at par. Banks are in a slightly different position.

A BANK’S STRENGTH: PROVIDING FLEXIBLE CAPITAL

Banks generally try to be there for their borrowers in difficult times — striving to roll over loans, renegotiate terms and raise additional capital. Banks do this for multiple reasons: They normally feel an obligation to help their clients, they have long-term relationships and they can commonly earn other sources of revenue from client-driven transactions. Banks can also flex their capital and lending base as needed by their clients. This is because a bank can and should make decisions to help companies through good times and bad, seeking to retain them as long-term clients across many areas of the bank. They can and do take “losses” that help the client maintain the franchise. But an asset manager must act as a “fiduciary” of other people’s money and cannot lend based on a moral obligation or potential future relationship.

Recently, we have been witnessing a convergence between the public and private markets. But it’s too soon to say how this ultimately will play out, particularly if we go through a recessionary cycle.

Management Lessons: Thinking, Deciding and Taking Action – Deliberately and with Heart

I always enjoy sharing what I’ve learned from watching others, reading and experiencing through my own journey.

BENEFITING FROM THE OODA LOOP

The military, which often operates in extreme intensity of life and death and in the fog and uncertainty of war, uses the term “OODA loop” (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act — repeat), a strategic process of constant review, analysis, decision making and action. One cannot overemphasize the importance of observation and a full assessment — the failure to do so leads to some of the greatest mistakes, not only in war but also in business and government.

A full assessment is critical.

To properly manage any business situation, you need to perform a full and complete assessment of it. In business, you have to understand your competitors, their distribution, their economics, their innovations, and their strengths and weaknesses. You also need to understand customers and their changing preferences, along with your own costs, your people and their skills. Then there’s knowing how other factors fit in, like technology, risk, motivations … hope you get the point. For countries, you need a thorough grasp of their economies, strengths and weaknesses, population and education, access to raw materials, laws and regulations, history and culture. Research, data and analytics should be at a very detailed level and constantly reassessed. Only after you complete this diligent study can you start to make plans with a high degree of success.

Get on the road – it builds knowledge and culture.

I have frequently wondered about all the nonstop road trips, client meetings, briefings, greetings, bus trips, and visits to call centers, operating centers and branches, regulators and government officials, among others: Did they make a difference? The answer is absolutely yes because they enabled a process of constant learning, assessment and modification of best practices — gaining insights from employees to clients to competitors. Employees will tell you what you are doing well or poorly if you simply ask them, and they know you want to hear the real answer. Curiosity is a form of humility — acknowledging that you don’t know everything. Responding to curiosity allows other people to speak freely. Facts and details matter and inform a deeper and deeper analysis that allows you to continually revise and update your plans. This, of course, also means that you are constantly admitting prior mistakes.

You need to shed sacred cows, seek out blind spots and challenge the status quo.

Very often companies or individuals develop narratives based upon beliefs that are very hard to dislodge but are often wrong — and they can lead to terrible mistakes. A few examples will suffice. Stripe, Inc. built a payments business by working with developers — something we never would have imagined but might have figured out if we had tried to seek out what others were doing in this area. Branches were being closed, both at Bank One and Chase, because the assumption was that they would not be needed in the future. We underinvested for years in the wealth management business because we were always focused on the value of deposits versus investments. Question everything.

Use your brains to figure out the truth — not to justify what you already think.

It’s often hard to change your own attitudes and beliefs, especially those you may have held on to for some time. But you must be open to it. When you learn something that is different from what you thought, it may affect many conclusions you have, not just one. Try not to allow yourself to become rigid or “weaponized,” where other employees or interest groups jazz you up so much that you become a weapon on their behalf. This makes it much harder to see things clearly for yourself. When people disagree with you, seek out where they may be partially right. This opens the door for a deeper understanding and avoids binary thinking.

It's hard to see certain long-term trends, but you must try.

There is too much emphasis on short-term, monthly data and too little on long-term trends and on what might happen in the future that would influence long-term outcomes. For example, today there is tremendous interest in monthly inflation data, although it seems to me that every long-term trend I see increases inflation relative to the last 20 years. Huge fiscal spending, the trillions needed each year for the green economy, the remilitarization of the world and the restructuring of global trade — all are inflationary. I’m not sure models could pick this up. And you must use judgment if you want to evaluate impacts like these.

Also, a block of time as short as one year is an artificial framework for judging the impact of long-term trends that could easily play out over years. A helpful exercise is to think “future back,” in which you imagine different future outcomes, including the ones you want, and then work backward to events that are happening today (or that might happen or that you cause to happen), closely examining the connections between those events and your projected or desired outcomes. Those connections inform your risk and R&D planning. Similarly, when companies compare the attributes of their products and services with their competitors, they usually only consider where they are versus their competitors. But nothing is static — they should consider where their competitors will be in the future. Conditions are always changing, crises are always emerging. When analyzing the playing field, it is better to assume that your competitors are strong and are already in the process of improving and innovating. This minimizes the chance of arrogance leading to complacency.

DECISION MAKING AND ACTING (HAVE A PROCESS)

There is a time for an individual to decide and act.

Sometimes you should take the time to measure twice and cut once. And then sometimes making a quick decision is better than delaying. You should try to distinguish between the two. For example, with decisions that are hard to reverse, it’s usually better to go slow. With other decisions where you can test, learn, probe and change direction, it’s often better to go fast. It’s been my experience that it’s hard for some people to actually decide and act. This could be from analysis paralysis, lack of “perfect” information, fear of failure or the feeling that full consensus is needed before a decision can be reached. But whatever it is, it can slow down and possibly seriously damage a company.

To get people to think like decision makers and take a strong point of view, we like to ask, “What would you do if you were king or queen for a day?” It helps shift the direction to individual decision making. We also ask questions like, “What would you wish for if you knew X was going to happen?” (for example, higher interest rates). Decision making takes a mix of courage, grit and guts.

One exercise that I find useful (and sometimes painful) is to draw up a list of important decisions that need to be made — the ones I often avoid confronting. So I take time every Sunday to think about these tough issues and almost always make progress. Progress doesn’t always mean that you come to the final conclusion — sometimes it’s just a very rational next step that can put you on a path to the final decision.

Try to have a good decision-making process.

Try to give yourself the time to decide. Make sure you speak with the right people and make sure the right people are in the room. Information should be fully shared. People should be made very comfortable with open debate. Quite often, the “right” answer is simply waiting to be found — you don’t have to guess.

Crowdsourcing, compromise, consensus and committees have benefits and risks.

There are huge benefits to crowdsourcing intelligence. It is a form of full assessment, a strategy for getting the best ideas and challenging the status quo. We should do this for almost every major decision. It is perfectly fine on some occasions to compromise and gain consensus, particularly on decisions that are not critical and can easily be reversed. Often people spend too much time debating issues that are simply not that important; it’s better to decide and move on. Also, before you compromise, you should know exactly what you want to achieve and the consequences of any tradeoffs. However, sometimes compromise and consensus cannot work and only lead to a feel-good decision that is probably wrong — this could be the road to ruin.

The use of committees can be good when done properly. For example, if our risk committees could do a full assessment and crowdsource all potential risks, that would lead to better decision making. I will give one very personal and painful example, which is when we had a major trading scandal, called The London Whale. The scandal was not caused by the complexity of the trade but rather the failure to go to the proper Risk committee for a thorough review, which should have happened but didn’t. I have no doubt that had the trade been raised there, the flaws would have been exposed immediately, thereby dramatically reducing or eliminating the problem. On the other hand, the opposite can happen when a committee, with everyone staring at each other, devolves into herd-like behavior with people looking for confirmation and ending up with a compromise that is a poor choice.

Good leadership involves great observation and the ability to act, but there is more …

THE SECRET SAUCE OF LEADERSHIP (HAVE A HEART)

You need to earn trust and respect with your employees.

You can be great at assessment, you can be brilliant and you may often be willing to act. But all of that is not good enough for “complete” leadership. To become a true leader, you need to be trusted and you must earn your respect, every day. People have to know that you do not have ulterior motives and that you’re trying to do the right thing — not trying to burnish your personal reputation. Good people want to work for people they respect, and they will not respect people who take all the credit and share all the blame. People need to know that even when you make mistakes, you’re willing to admit them and take corrective action. And there is more …

The importance of vision, communication and inspiration.

The reason I’ve always hesitated to talk about “vision” is because often it is the basic BS of corporate speak — that somehow if you impart your vision to people, they will take the mountain. What it really is all about is this: After you’ve done your full assessment and decision making, you can then continuously educate, explain, train, simplify, propel and fight. But this only works if people know you are in the trenches with them, if they understand the mission and if they are there side by side with your effort.

We know that bureaucracy can lead to politics, corporate stasis and terrible decisions. So you can communicate your vision about how to fight bureaucracy by telling stories about the silly things we do — but with a smile — and then by showing people that you will actually fix the problems.

Finally, your vision needs to be clear, coherent and consistent. Within an organization, people very quickly pick up the pattern of management saying one thing but doing another. Because if words and actions are inconsistent (for example, and I could give many, when we say we want employees to be treated with respect, but we allow a jerk to be their boss), confidence in leadership will be eroded.

Heart cannot be overstated.

Heart matters. And it makes a difference when people know and see that you actually care. One example: Many years ago when I was new to JPMorgan Chase, I learned that the company’s security guards had been outsourced — to save money. Since after outsourcing, when the same guards continued coming to work every day at the same salary, I wondered, “How could this be?” (FYI, this was brought to my attention by the head of the Service Employees International Union, who came to see me over the objection of my management team.) The reason we were saving money is because the healthcare benefits were cut in half for the guards and their family members (currently worth approximately $15,000 a year), and the savings were split with us. This was a heartless thing to do — and the second I found out, I reversed the decision. JPMorgan Chase’s success will not be built off the backs of our guards — it will be the result of fair treatment of all of our employees — and we’re thankful that many of those guards are still with our company today.

You know heart and soul when you see it in effect on sports teams or with “the boys in the boat” — it’s a beautiful thing to watch. It’s not as obvious, but it happens in business, too.

It’s essential to build trust with your customers, constituencies and, yes, even competitors.

Of course, I’m not bringing this up as a matter of corporate governance or a corporation’s purpose: A business should, over the long run, try to maximize shareholder value. It is completely obvious that running a decent business —treating everyone ethically and earning trust and respect in all your communities — is not only fundamental to shareholder value but also to a healthy society.

A Pivotal Moment for America and the Free Western World: Strategy and Policy Matter

In past years, I have written extensively about public policy issues. It is important to engage in these conversations, particularly around domestic economic policy because policy matters . While JPMorgan Chase can execute specific plans to improve outcomes for customers and communities, there is no replacement for effective government policies that add to the general well-being of the country. A stronger and more prosperous country will make us a stronger company.

As CEO of this company, every year I visit numerous countries around the globe. I meet with foreign government leaders, presidents and prime ministers, business leaders, and civic and academic experts, which allows me to learn a significant amount about how public policy is executed around the world. It also reinforces some of the critical values and virtues that are essential to a healthy country.

Every time I see the American flag, it reminds me of the values and virtues of this country and its founding principles conceived in liberty and dedicated to the notion that all men and women are created equal. Talk with someone who has recently become a naturalized citizen or watch a ceremony where groups of people take the oath to America, and you will see extraordinary joy and newfound pride. They now live free, with individual rights protected by the Constitution and with their life and the well-being of their family and community protected by the U.S. military. As Americans, we have much to be grateful for and much to defend.

If you read the newspaper from virtually any day of any year since World War II, there is abundant coverage on wars — hot and cold — inflation, recession, polarized politics, terrorist attacks, migration and starvation. As appalling as these events have been, the world was generally on a path to becoming stronger and safer. When terrible events happen, we tend to overestimate the effect they will have on the global economy. Recent events, however, may very well be creating risks that could eclipse anything since World War II — we should not take them lightly.

February 24, 2022 is another day in history that will live in infamy. On that day, 190,000 Russian soldiers invaded a free and democratic European country — importantly, somewhat protected by the threat of nuclear blackmail. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent abhorrent attack on Israel and ongoing violence in the Middle East should have punctured many assumptions about the direction of future safety and security, bringing us to this pivotal time in history. America and the free Western world can no longer maintain a false sense of security based on the illusion that dictatorships and oppressive nations won’t use their economic and military powers to advance their aims — particularly against what they perceive as weak, incompetent and disorganized Western democracies. In a troubled world, we are reminded that national security is and always will be paramount, even if its importance seems to recede in tranquil times.

The fallout from these events should also lay to rest the idea that America can stand alone. Of course, U.S. leaders must always put America first, but global peace and order are vital to American interests. Only America has the full capability to lead and coalesce the Western world, though we must do so respectfully and in partnership with our allies. Without cohesiveness and unity with our allies, autocratic forces will divide and conquer the bickering democracies. America needs to lead with its strengths — not only its military but also its economic, diplomatic and moral forces. And now we must do so as America’s leadership is being challenged around the world. There is nothing more important.

Policy and strategy matter, and it’s important to be engaged.

In our increasingly complex world, there is a vital interrelationship between domestic and foreign economic policy, particularly around trade, investment, national security and other issues. And, of course, while American voters and leadership set U.S. foreign policy, being a constructive part of the global conversation has become more important than ever.

If you doubt how important public policy is for the health of a country, you need to look no further than the recent history of Greece, Ireland or Singapore. Each of these countries, starting from deeply challenging places, implemented effective government and policies that have done a great job of lifting up their people when many thought it wasn’t possible. Sweden is another great example of a country with good broad-based policies that have succeeded at precisely what we all may want — a dynamic, innovative, free-market economy (Sweden actually has fewer government-owned enterprises than America) and safety nets that work. Conversely, you need to look no further than North Korea or Venezuela to see the complete destruction and havoc that terrible public policies (often in the name of the people) can cultivate.

Strategy by its nature must be comprehensive. In the rest of this section, I try to answer the question: What must we do to ensure that the world stays safe, not only for America but for freedom and democracy? A comprehensive strategy entails four important pillars, and we must succeed at each:

Maintain American leadership (including military).
Achieve long-term economic success with our allies.
Strengthen our nation domestically.
Deepen focus and resolve on addressing our most pressing challenges.

COALESCING THE WESTERN WORLD — A UNIQUELY AMERICAN TASK

Only America has the full capabilities of military might, economic power and the principles that most people around the world yearn for — based on “liberty and justice for all” and the proposition that all people are created equal. America remains the bastion of freedom and the arsenal of democracy.

There is no alternative to American leadership.

In the free and democratic Western world, and, in fact, for many other countries, there is no real or good alternative to America. The only other potential superpower is China. Other nations know they can rely on the founding principles of America. If we reach out our hand, most nations will happily take that hand. America is still the most prosperous nation on the planet, which not only can guarantee our military strength but also positions us to help our allies develop and grow their nations (though we should minimize the “our way or the highway” type of behavior). This leadership is needed today to help Ukraine stay free in its battle with Russia.

Most of the world wants American leadership.

America continues to be the envy of much of the world, and as we’ve seen with the challenges at our borders, there is a reason people want to come here and not to autocratic nations. If you opened America’s borders to the rest of the world, I have little doubt that hundreds of millions of people would want to move here. By contrast, not many would want to emigrate to autocratic nations. Also, I have little doubt that if most investors across the globe could only invest in one country, they would choose the United States. Beyond our country’s borders, people and nations around the world understand the role that America has played in promoting world peace — known as Pax Americana. For the most part, Pax Americana has kept the world relatively peaceful since World War II and helped lead to enormous global economic prosperity, which has helped lift 1.3 billion people out of poverty.

Modern America does not engage in economic coercion or foreign wars to steal land or treasure. The fact that some of our foreign excursions might have been misguided does not negate this. We helped rebuild Europe and Japan after the devastation of World War II, and we, with our allies, have helped create global institutions to maintain peace. We are still trusted.

First and foremost, the Western world needs unquestioned military might — peace through strength.

“We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak,” said Ronald Reagan in 1980.

So far, the Western world has done a good job in strengthening military alliances in response to the war in Ukraine. Ukraine is essentially the front line that needs immediate support. Providing that support is the best way to counter autocratic forces that would seek to weaken the Western world, particularly America. But the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East could become far worse and spread in unpredictable ways. Most important, the specter of nuclear weapons — probably still the greatest threat to mankind — hovers as the ultimate decider, which should strike deep fear in all our hearts. The best protection starts with an unyielding resolve to do whatever we need to do to maintain the strongest military on the planet — a commitment that is well within our economic capability.

American leadership requires not only the military but also the full “symphony of power.”

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in his book Exercise of Power, writes extensively in the first chapter about “the symphony of power.” He makes the critical point that America has often overused and misused military power and has massively underused other muscles — diplomacy, intelligence, communication (explaining to the world the benefits of democracy and free enterprise) and comprehensive economic policy.

America has the most extensive group of partners, friends and allies — both military and economic — that the world has probably ever seen. We should put this to better use.

The American public ought to hear more about why this is so important.

International isolationism has run through American foreign policy throughout our history, frequently with good reason. The chant, “Don’t get involved in foreign wars” was often right. That said, the American public should remember that even after the Revolutionary War, we did, in fact, have British and French armies on our soil. The sinking of American merchant and passenger ships during World War I and the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II brought isolationism to a close for a time. America is never far from being dragged into terrible conflicts. Global wars come to our shores whether we like it or not — we need to stay engaged.

In perilous periods of history when our allies and other democracies were under serious assault, great American leaders have inspired the American people — through words and actions — to stand up to help and defend them. Staying on the sidelines during battles of autocracy and democracy, between dictatorship and freedom, is simply not an option for America today. Ukraine is the front line of democracy. If the war goes badly for Ukraine, you may see the splintering of Pax Americana, which would be a disaster for the whole free world . Ukraine’s struggle is our struggle, and ensuring their victory is ensuring America first . It is imperative that our national leaders explain to the American people what is at stake and make a powerful case – with energy, consistency and clarity – for our strong enduring commitment to Ukraine’s survival for as long as it takes (and it could take years).

One last point: Ukraine needs our help immediately, but it’s important to understand that much of the money that America is directing to Ukraine is for purchasing weapons and equipment, most of which will be built in America. Not only is our aid helping Ukraine, but it is going directly to American manufacturers, and it is helping the country rebuild our military industrial capacity for the next generation.

STRENGTHENING OUR POSITION WITH A COMPREHENSIVE, GLOBAL ECONOMIC SECURITY STRATEGY

Sustaining America’s economic strength is a bedrock for our long-term military strength. There are many things we need to do to strengthen the U.S. economy, and I talk about that later in this section. This discussion is about foreign economic policies – the economic battlefield.

The whole Western world is rethinking and reimagining its military strategies and alliances. We need to do the same for our economic strategies and alliances, but we should be guided by a comprehensive global strategy that deals with critical issues. Done properly, such a strategy would help strengthen, coalesce and possibly be the glue that holds together Western democratic alliances over decades.

Foreign economic policy involves trade and investment, export controls, secure and resilient supply chains, and the execution of sanctions and any related industrial policies. It must also include development finance — think of the “Belt and Road” efforts in China — which are critical to most developing nations. This framework should tell us not only how to deal with our allies but also how to work with nonaligned nations around the world. These strategies should not be aimed against any one country (such as China) but rather be focused on keeping the world safe for democracy and free enterprise.

Economic national security is paramount — both for the United States and for our allies.

It is a valid point that the Western world — both government and business — essentially underestimated the growing strength and potential threat of China. It’s also true that China has been comprehensively and strategically focused on these economic issues, all while we slept. But let’s not cry over spilled milk — let’s just fix it.

We missed the potential threat from three vantage points. The first is companies’ overreliance on China as the sole link in their supply chain, which can create vulnerabilities and reduces resiliency. But to the extent this involves everyday items, like clothes, sneakers, vaccine compounds and consumer goods, this dependency is not as critical or complex and will eventually be sorted out.

The second is the most critical. The United States cannot rely on any potential adversaries for materials essential to our national security — think rare earths, 5G and semiconductors, penicillin and materials critical to essential pharmaceuticals, among others. We also cannot be sharing vital technologies that can enhance an adversary’s military capabilities. The United States should properly and narrowly define these issues and then act unilaterally, if necessary, to fix them.

The third is also complex, which is countering unfair competition or “mercantilist” behavior in critical industries; think electric vehicles, renewable energy and AI, among others. Examples of this would be where a state, any state, uses government powers, capital, subsidies or other means to dominate critical industries and deeply damage the economic position of other nations. Weakening a country economically can render it a virtual “vassal state,” reliant on potential adversaries for essential goods and services, which also weakens it militarily. We cannot cede our important resources and capabilities to potential adversaries.

All these issues can be resolved, though they will take time and need devoted effort.

Every nation will have different national security issues. For example, Europe in general and countries like India, Japan and Korea need reliable, affordable and secure energy; many nations would put food security as their top concern. This means that we must work with our allies to accomplish our own goals and to help them accomplish theirs. We have extraordinary common interests in our joint security: We must hang together — because if we don’t, we will assuredly hang separately.

We already engage in trade — improving it is good economics and great geopolitics.

We must have a better understanding of trade. As a nation, we refuse to get into genuine trade discussions, but this ignores the complete and obvious truth — we already have trade relationships with all these countries. Approximately 92% of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. Increased trade allows our workers and farmers to access those markets. We should negotiate trade agreements that can achieve more, economically, for ourselves and our allies, as well as meet all of our national security needs. While it is appropriate to use trade to continue to nudge allies in the right direction around human rights and climate, this objective should be subordinated to our national interests of long-term security.

Negotiating must be done in concert with our allied nations so as not to cause a fissure in economic relations. This is critical — strong economic bonds will help ensure strong military alliances. The Inflation Reduction Act has much good in it (more on this later), but it angered many of our allies. To them, the bill was by America and for America, and, subsequently, they felt a need to match it so their businesses would not be disadvantaged. The terms of the legislation could have been better negotiated with our allies in mind, strengthening our economic ties with the free world.

We should also immediately re-enter, if possible, the prior negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Not only is it good for the economy, but it also could be a brilliant, strategic, economic security move — an economic alliance that binds us with 11 other important countries (including Australia, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore and Vietnam). Geopolitically and strategically, this might be one of the most important moves to counter China. While this is a challenging step, our political leaders need to explain and lead — and not be afraid of dealing with the tough issues. We also need to acknowledge that there have been real negative job impacts as a result of trade, which are usually concentrated around certain areas and businesses. So any new trade policy should be combined with a greatly enhanced Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which provides retraining, income assistance and relocation for those workers directly impacted by trade.

Trade is realpolitik , and the recent cancellation of future liquified natural gas (LNG) projects is a good example of this fact. The projects were delayed mainly for political reasons — to pacify those who believe that gas is bad and that oil and gas projects should simply be stopped. This is not only wrong but also enormously naïve. One of the best ways to reduce CO2 for the next few decades is to use gas to replace coal. When oil and gas prices skyrocketed last winter, nations around the world — wealthy and very climate-conscious nations like France, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as lower-income nations like Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam that could not afford the higher cost — started to turn back to their coal plants. This highlights the importance of safe, secure and affordable energy. Second, the export of LNG is a great economic boon for the United States. But most important is the realpolitik goal: Our allied nations that need secure and affordable energy resources, including critical nations like Japan, Korea and most of our European allies, would like to be able to depend on the United States for energy. This now puts them in a difficult position — they may have to look elsewhere for such supplies, tuning to Iran, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or maybe even Russia. We need to minimize anything that can tear at our economic bonds with our allies.

The strength of our domestic production of energy gives us a “power advantage” — cheaper and more reliable energy, which creates economic and geopolitical advantages.

Industrial policy is now necessary, but it should be carefully constructed and limited.

In some cases, industrial policy (using government resources to subsidize investments to help make businesses more competitive) may be the only solution for quickly building up the industries we need (rare earths and semiconductors, among others) to guarantee resilient national security. The IRA and CHIPS Act are good examples of this and government has to get it right.

Such policy can also be used to help combat unfair competitive policies of nations that are using state capitalism and state control to dominate critical industries. However, when crafting industrial policy, the function of government needs to be narrowly defined and kept simple; i.e., governmental jurisdiction should be limited to very specific products and probably to what we know works, such as tax credits and, to a lesser extent, loan guarantees. And industrial policy should include twin provisions: 1) strict limitations on political interference, like social policies, and 2) specific permitting requirements, which, if not drastically improved, will badly inhibit our ability to make investments and allow infrastructure to be built. Adding social policy, politics and matters other than simple tax credits dramatically reduces the economic efficiency of industrial policy and creates conditions for corporate America to feed at the trough of government largess. We should quickly address how we can improve on already executed legislation. We do not want to look back and have great regrets about how so much of this policy work failed.

There are those who argue that the U.S. government needs much more far-reaching industrial policy to be able to micromanage and accomplish its many ambitious objectives. To those I say, read further in this section about how ineffective so many government policies have been.

We should be tough, but we should engage with China.

Over the last 20 years, China has been executing a more comprehensive economic strategy than we have. The country’s leaders have successfully grown their nation and, depending on how you measure it, have the first or second largest economy in the world. That said, many question the current economic focus of China’s leadership as they don’t have everything figured out. While China has become the largest trading partner to many countries around the world, its own GDP per person is $13,000. And the country continues to be beset by many economic and domestic issues.

China has its own national security concerns. The country is located in a very politically complex part of the world, and many of China’s actions have caused its neighbors (e.g., Japan, Korea, Philippines, among others) to start to re-arm and, in fact, draw closer to the United States. It also surprises many Americans to hear that while our country is 100% energy sufficient, China needs to import 10 million barrels of oil a day. It is clear that China’s new leadership has set a different course, with a much more intense focus on national security, military capability and internal development. That is their right, and we simply need to adjust to it.

America still has an enormously strong hand — plenty of food, water and energy; peaceful neighbors; and what remains the most prosperous and dynamic economy the world has ever seen, with a per person GDP of over $80,000 a year. Most important, our nation is blessed with the benefit of true freedom and liberty. See the sidebar on the amazing power of freedom later in this section.

While we may always have a complex relationship with China (made all the more complicated and serious by ongoing wars), the country’s vast size and importance to so many other nations requires us to stay engaged — thoughtfully and without fear. At the same time, we need to build and execute our own long-term, comprehensive economic security strategy to keep our position safe and secure. I believe that respectful, strong and consistent engagement would be best for both our countries and the rest of the world.

We need to strengthen and rebuild the international order — we may need a new Bretton Woods.

The international rules-based order established by the Western world after World War II is clearly under attack by outside forces, somewhat weakened by its own failures and inability to keep up with the increasingly complex world. This international order relies on a web of military alliances, trade agreements (e.g., World Trade Organization), development finance (e.g., International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) and related global tax and investment policies and diplomacy organizations (e.g., United Nations), which have evolved into a confusing and overlapping regime of policies. You can now add to it the new issues of cyber warfare, digital trade and privacy, and global taxes, among others.

It might be a good idea to convene a group of like-minded leaders to build and improve upon what already exists. The time may be right for a reimagined Bretton Woods — and by this, I mean revitalizing our global architecture. Since too many parts of the world have been neglected, any new system has to take into account and properly address the needs of all nations, including areas of concentrated poverty.

While we hope the wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East will end eventually (and, we hope, successfully from the standpoint of our allies), these other critical economic battles could possibly continue throughout our lifetime. If the Western world is slowly split apart over the next few decades, it will likely be the result of our failure to effectively address crucial global economic challenges.

PROVIDING STRONG LEADERSHIP GLOBALLY AND EFFECTIVE POLICY MAKING DOMESTICALLY

When you travel around the United States and talk with people of all types and persuasions, there is a rather common refrain; namely, why are we helping foreign nations with the safety of their borders and economies when we are not doing a particularly good job of protecting our own? While there is no moral equivalency in these arguments, they are understandable. It is clear that many Americans feel we need to do a better job here at home before we can focus over there . We can understand why some people living in this country, who have been neglected for decades, ask how their government can find the money for Ukraine and other parts of the world but not for them. It is a reasonable question.

From my point of view, our highly charged, emotional and political domestic issues are centered around 1) immigration and lack of border security and 2) the fraying of the American dream, particularly for low-income and rural Americans who feel left behind amid the growing wealth and prosperity of others around them. Please read the sidebar below, which I believe explains the legitimate frustration of some of our citizens. And I agree with them.

In the sidebar, I also explain how two policies (a large expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and focus on work skills and job outcomes at high schools, community colleges and colleges) would not only dramatically increase both the income and employment opportunities for many of those left behind but would also have the virtue of actually growing the workforce. The combined effect of all of this would be quite a boon to our GDP.

I believe that many affected Americans are not angry at hardworking, law-abiding immigrants and, in fact, acknowledge the critical role immigrants continue to play in building this wonderful country. Rather, they are angry that America has not implemented proper border control and immigration policies. It is astounding that many in Congress know what to do and want to do it but are simply unable to pass legislation because of partisan politics. Congress did come close on a few occasions — and I hope they keep trying.

Deliberate policies meant to drive healthy growth are needed.

For over two decades, since 2000, America has grown at an anemic rate of 2%. We should have strived for and achieved 3% growth. Had we done so, GDP per person today would be $16,000 higher, which would, in turn, have paid for better healthcare, childcare, education and other services. Importantly, the best way to handle our excess deficit and debt issues is to maximize economic growth.

Growth policies include (the list could be very long so I’ll just mention a few):

Consistent tax policies, conducive to both employment and capital investment. Capital investment is the primary driver of innovation, productivity and, therefore, growth in America. Tax policies change too frequently, which causes uncertainty and complicates long-term capital investment decision making (I won’t bore you with the details here). A bipartisan committee of Congress is probably required to fix this — and the sooner the better.
Well-conceived regulations (and related laws). This requires an ongoing concerted effort to streamline regulations to cost-effectively drive better outcomes for the United States. The last thing we need is a constant pile-on of politically driven, fragmented policies. Please read the sidebar, an editorial in The Wall Street Journal by George McGovern, one of the most liberal presidential nominees in our lifetime, in which he clearly lays out the complexity, risks and costs that businesses, large and small, face every day. While he acknowledges the worthiness of the goals of many regulations, he points out their negatives. He also calls out the “blame-shifting and scapegoating and the endless exposure to frivolous claims and high legal fees.” Not only is this state of affairs demoralizing, but it also reduces employment, capital investment and the formation of new businesses, as well as cause unnecessary bankruptcies. Estimates of the regulatory costs for America are approximately $19,000 per worker, dwarfing the regulatory burdens in other countries. We all want sensible regulations that make us a better and safer nation – but this number is astounding. We should be able to accomplish our goals while sharply reducing needless and wasteful expenses. And remember, it’s discouraging not only to companies but to all citizens who have to deal with it on a daily basis.

WALL STREET JOURNAL

June 1, 1992

Manager's Journal: A Politician's Dream Is a Businessman's Nightmare

By George McGovern Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late.

— Justice Felix Frankfurter

It's been 11 years since I left the U.S. Senate, after serving 24 years in high public office. After leaving a career in politics, I devoted much of my time to public lectures that took me into every state in the union and much of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

In 1988, I invested most of the earnings from this lecture circuit acquiring the leasehold on Connecticut's Stratford Inn. Hotels, inns and restaurants have always held a special fascination for me. The Stratford Inn promised the realization of a longtime dream to own a combination hotel, restaurant and public conference facility — complete with an experienced manager and staff.

In retrospect, I wish I had known more about the hazards and difficulties of such a business, especially during a recession of the kind that hit New England just as I was acquiring the inn's 43-year leasehold. I also wish that during the years I was in public office, I had had this firsthand experience about the difficulties business people face every day. That knowledge would have made me a better U.S. senator and a more understanding presidential contender.

Today we are much closer to a general acknowledgment that government must encourage business to expand and grow. Bill Clinton, Paul Tsongas, Bob Kerrey and others have, I believe, changed the debate of our party. We intuitively know that to create job opportunities we need entrepreneurs who will risk their capital against an expected payoff. Too often, however, public policy does not consider whether we are choking off those opportunities.

My own business perspective has been limited to that small hotel and restaurant in Stratford, Conn., with an especially difficult lease and a severe recession. But my business associates and I also lived with federal, state and local rules that were all passed with the objective of helping employees, protecting the environment, raising tax dollars for schools, protecting our customers from fire hazards, etc. While I never have doubted the worthiness of any of these goals, the concept that most often eludes legislators is: "Can we make consumers pay the higher prices for the increased operating costs that accompany public regulation and government reporting requirements with reams of red tape." It is a simple concern that is nonetheless often ignored by legislators.

For example, the papers today are filled with stories about businesses dropping health coverage for employees. We provided a substantial package for our staff at the Stratford Inn. However, were we operating today, those costs would exceed $150,000 a year for health care on top of salaries and other benefits. There would have been no reasonable way for us to absorb or pass on these costs.

Some of the escalation in the cost of health care is attributed to patients suing doctors. While one cannot assess the merit of all these claims, I've also witnessed firsthand the explosion in blame-shifting and scapegoating for every negative experience in life.

Today, despite bankruptcy, we are still dealing with litigation from individuals who fell in or near our restaurant. Despite these injuries, not every misstep is the fault of someone else. Not every such incident should be viewed as a lawsuit instead of an unfortunate accident. And while the business owner may prevail in the end, the endless exposure to frivolous claims and high legal fees is frightening.

Our Connecticut hotel, along with many others, went bankrupt for a variety of reasons, the general economy in the Northeast being a significant cause. But that reason masks the variety of other challenges we faced that drive operating costs and financing charges beyond what a small business can handle.

It is clear that some businesses have products that can be priced at almost any level. The price of raw materials (e.g., steel and glass) and life-saving drugs and medical care are not easily substituted by consumers. It is only competition or antitrust that tempers price increases. Consumers may delay purchases, but they have little choice when faced with higher prices.

In services, however, consumers do have a choice when faced with higher prices. You may have to stay in a hotel while on vacation, but you can stay fewer days. You can eat in restaurants fewer times per month, or forgo a number of services from car washes to shoeshines. Every such decision eventually results in job losses for someone. And often these are the people without the skills to help themselves — the people I've spent a lifetime trying to help.

In short, "one-size-fits-all" rules for business ignore the reality of the marketplace. And setting thresholds for regulatory guidelines at artificial levels — e.g., 50 employees or more, $500,000 in sales — takes no account of other realities, such as profit margins, labor intensive vs. capital intensive businesses, and local market economics.

The problem we face as legislators is: Where do we set the bar so that it is not too high to clear? I don't have the answer. I do know that we need to start raising these questions more often.

Mr. McGovern. the 1972 Democratic presidential candidate, is president of the Middle-Eastern Policy Council in Washington.

(See related letters: "Letters to the Editor: A Politician's Dream Is a Businessman's Nightmare" •· WSJ July 2, 1922)

Timely permits on projects large and small. There is virtually no industry — from agriculture and construction to transportation, technology, and oil and gas — or business, large or small, that isn’t disadvantaged by the tedious process and the length of time it takes to get approvals for permits to get things done. This includes federal, state and local requirements. These bottlenecks also make investment far more costly and slow. Timely permits would improve infrastructure and save lives, not endanger them.
Proper federal government budgeting and fiscal management. The staggering inability of the government to draft and pass a proper budget causes deep and unnecessary damage to our growth. Some people estimate that the waste alone (due to improper payments, overlapping programs, and fragmented and duplicative contracts, among other things) could cost the nation hundreds of billions of dollars annually. This uncertainty filters through virtually every part of the American economy and should not be accepted.

We can all forgo a little self-interest to do what is right for our country.

Those of us who have benefited the most from this country bear even greater responsibility to do this. It’s perfectly understandable that institutions, including businesses, unions and industries, lobby in Washington, D.C., to protect themselves — in good ways and bad — but we should more regularly put national interests ahead of self-interests. It’s good to want to ensure well-paying jobs and healthy industries. But it is not good when it reduces competition, stops the deployment of enhanced technology, harms efficiency, creates fake jobs or builds bridges to nowhere or damages the general health of the economy. Doing the right thing, the right way – which is achievable – would be better for everyone. As former President John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

Celebrate American exceptionalism.

We can safely say that America is an exceptional nation built and grounded on principles — principles of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, free enterprise (capitalism), and the freedom and empowerment brought to us by our democracy through the power to elect our leaders and of our Constitution, which makes these individual freedoms sacrosanct. Much of the world yearns to be here because of those principles — the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We should extol those virtues while recognizing that America has never been a perfect nation, like all other nations. We can acknowledge our flaws and strive to constantly correct them, without denigrating our nation.

Let’s celebrate the shared sense of sacrifice that gives us all strength.

There were very few positives from the pandemic, but I’m mentioning one, which, unfortunately, didn’t last, but reflected the best of us. In New York City, at 7 p.m. every evening, people throughout the city would open their windows, shouting and screaming and banging pots and pans to show gratitude to the essential workers — sanitation workers, police, firefighters, emergency responders, nurses and doctors. Of course, these workers were always essential, but I was hoping that spirit and civility would become deeply embedded and have longer lasting effects in our society.

I can understand when an individual for conscientious reasons chooses not to do work that helps our military. But I cannot understand when an entire company takes that position. How can we have a sense of shared sacrifice, when America is home to 18 million veterans who were willing to risk their lives for America’s safety, and yet some companies are not even willing to use their fingertips to help?

For example, back in 1969 the cancellation of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs by the country’s most prestigious universities and colleges likely fueled the great divide – between elites and others in our country – that persists today. Our strength as a nation is best served when the best students and the best soldiers are brought together and we would all benefit from more civility and better teaching around basic virtues like hard work, shared sacrifice, justice, rationality and more respect for the enduring values of American freedom and free enterprise.

Resist being “weaponized.”

We can start by trying to understand other people’s and other voters’ points of views, even around deeply emotional topics. We can stop insulting whole classes of voters. We can stop name calling. We can stop blame-shifting and scapegoating. We can stop being petty. Politicians can cease insulting, baiting and belittling each other, which diminishes them and the voter. It has also become too acceptable for some politicians to say one thing in private and deliver a completely different message in public. It would also be nice to see some cabinet members from the opposing party. We should also stop degrading and demonizing American business and American institutions, which are the best in the world, because it erodes confidence in our very country.

Social media could do more.

There is no question that social media has some real negative effects, from the manipulation of elections to the increasingly documented negative effects on the mental health of children. These are issues impacting our individual and collective spheres, and it’s time for social media companies to take more action to remedy these challenges — and swiftly. Rapid advances in technology will not only make these existing issues harder to address, but they will likely create new ones. The current state of the online information landscape has wide-ranging implications on trust in institutions, information integrity and more — and it bears on institutions like ours, where platform policy has increasingly widespread implications for concerns about fraud, security and other issue spaces.

A range of tools and approaches is required to address this complex and important situation — and there are several measures that platform companies can immediately enact, voluntarily, while strengthening and improving their business models. One common sense and modest step would be for social media companies to further empower platform users’ control over what they see and how it is presented, leveraging existing tools and features — like the alternative feed algorithm settings some offer today. I believe many users (not just parents) would appreciate a greater ability to more carefully curate their feeds; for example, prioritizing educational content for their children.

Platforms could also consider enhanced authentication measures; i.e., having users identify themselves to the platform or to a trusted third party. This would have the virtue of increasing individual accountability and reducing imposters, bots and possibly foreign political actors on platforms. It would have immediate benefits for users who prefer content from authenticated sources that take responsibility for their postings. There are clear competing values that need to be balanced in such an approach, including those related to our cherished right to free speech, individual privacy and inclusion (for example, roughly 850 million people globally don’t have a way to easily authenticate themselves today). There are also legitimate questions as to whether authentication would be used as a tool to chill or block speech or quash bona fide political dissenters, and real work needs to be done to identify policy and technical solutions that balance such risks and benefits.

I offer these approaches as a starting place, understanding that it's crucial to continue honest conversation across sectors about the immediate, incremental improvements we can make to our online public square, considering the high stakes involved in how information is created and shared.

Effective measures will require time, money, learning and improvement, all in service of significantly enhancing the well-being, quality, and civility of our experiences online and in the world around us.

Healthy collaboration with business is needed.

Companies big and small create jobs, pay for employee healthcare and benefits, and build bridges, roads and hospitals. The people who work for and run these companies care deeply about their country — they are patriots, and they want to see people and communities succeed and prosper.

Unfortunately, the message America hears is that the federal government does not value business — that business is the problem and not part of the solution. There are fewer individuals in government who have any significant experience in starting or running a company, which is apparent every day in the political rhetoric that demonizes businesses and free enterprise and that damages confidence in American’s institutions. The relationship between business and government, in fact, might improve if there were more people from the business sector working in government. Inexperience with business is also evident from the regular lack of transparency or curiosity from regulators as they develop economic policies with potentially seismic consequences for the economy.

When I travel around the country, I experience a very different perspective on the street and at the local level — I see that many governors, mayors and city council members understand they are not facing big challenges alone. They stand shoulder to shoulder with our company, even when some of their constituents disagree or are skeptical about big banks. These government officials know they need partners who have the same stake in helping successful communities thrive and who care about building a prosperous future as much as they do. For example, in fewer than 10 years, Detroit saw one of the greatest turnarounds because of a vibrant collaboration between government and business. And businesses know they cannot succeed if individuals, families, towns and cities are not flourishing. We obviously don’t agree on everything, but there is a shared belief that we must work together. We can and should be full partners in developing solutions to our big problems.

The federal government, regardless of which party is in charge, needs to earn back trust through competence and effective policymaking.

The world is becoming more complex, more technologically competent and faster. Unfortunately the government simply is not built to innovate, compete and move quickly, as in the competitive business world. This may be the reason why government is becoming less effective. We need to take action on this because the loss of trust in government is damaging to society. We should be brutally honest about the staggering number of policies, systems and operations that are underperforming: Too many ineffective public schools do not give students the skills they need to land a well-paying job; we have over 25 million uninsured Americans, soaring healthcare costs and too many bad outcomes; we are unable to plan, permit and build infrastructure efficiently; our litigation system is capricious and wasteful; progress on immigration policies and reform is frustrating; lack of efficient mortgage markets and an affordable housing policy keep housing out of reach for many Americans; problems plague the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Internal Revenue Service; public universities don’t take responsibility for their costs and are often funded by excessive student lending; underinvestment in the electric grid results in high costs and unreliable service; highly inefficient U.S. merchant shipping and ports; and we have unfunded pension plans and no action on deficit spending, Social Security and Medicare. I’ll stop here. This should be unacceptable to all of us.

We need to find a way to bring more varied expertise and accountability to government.

We should be more ambitious in striving for excellence in government. I acknowledge that some of the best and the brightest are in government and the military today. Yet we should return to a government that seeks out more of the best and the brightest people from every background , including the private sector, to benefit from their knowledge and experience. Government also needs to leverage the expertise of business to address problems that it cannot solve on its own. And to be fair, business could use its influence to do less to further its own interest and more to enhance the nation as a whole.

We need good government. And there are some things only governments can do, such as oversee the military and justice systems. And while most innovation happens through the private sector, there are certain types of foundational innovations that can only be advanced by the government, such as basic research that simply cannot be funded by business. The Democrats want the government to do even more and the Republicans even less — I think we should spend more time trying to do even better . But no one, not even my most liberal Democratic friends, thinks that sending the government another trillion a year would be a wise use of money.

OUT OF THE LABYRINTH, WITH FOCUS AND RESOLVE

Even America, the most prosperous nation on the planet with its vast resources, needs to focus its resources on the complex and difficult tasks ahead.

I hope to never read a book about How the West Was Lost, summarized as follows: The failure to save Ukraine and find peace in the Middle East led to more bickering among the allies and weakened military alliances. This accelerated a division within the Western world, splitting countries into different economic spheres and with each nation trying to protect its economy, trade and energy sources. America’s economy weakened, eventually leading to the loss of its reserve currency status. Besotted by populism and partisanship and crippled by bureaucracy and lack of willpower, America failed to focus on what it needed to do to lead and save the Western world. The enemy was within — we just didn’t see it in time.

Paraphrasing what Winston Churchill was thought to have said: America, after it had exhausted all other possibilities, would do the right thing.

What I want and hope to see is a book about How the West Was Won. As the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East dragged on and as the fears of the Western world mounted, America rose to the challenge as it had in other turbulent times in history. America coalesced with its allies to form the alliances necessary to keep the world safe for freedom and democracy.

I remain with a deep and abiding faith in the strength of the enduring values of America.

WE SHOULD HAVE MORE FAITH IN THE AMAZING POWER OF OUR FREEDOMS

The heart and soul of the dynamism of America is human freedom — freedom of speech, freedom of religion, free enterprise (capitalism), and the freedom and empowerment brought to us by our democracy through the right to elect our leaders. Free people are at liberty to move around as they see fit, work as they see fit, dream as they see fit, and invest in themselves and in the pursuit of happiness as they see fit. This freedom that people enjoy, accompanied by the freedom of capital, is what drives the dynamism — economic and social — of this great country.

Our civil liberties depend upon the rule of law, property rights, including intellectual property, and restrictions on government encroachment upon these freedoms. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights secure our individual freedoms and reserve all rights to the individual other than those important but limited authorities given to the government.

The issue of individual rights is not all or none or freedom versus no freedom. There are, of course, terrible examples where individual rights were trampled upon, and the results were devastating — both for the individual and for the economy — in East Germany, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, to name a few. And there are many countries that protect individual rights and are on a spectrum closer to American values. Think of Europe, for example. But even in some countries that have some of these rights, a lack of dynamism — often due to bureaucracy, weak institutions and government, and corruption — is palpable and has clearly led to less innovation, lower growth and, in general, a lower standard of living.

Freedom must necessarily be joined with the principle of striving toward equal opportunity. Equal opportunity is what allows individuals to rise to the best of their ability — it also means unequal outcomes. Equal opportunity is the foundation for fairness and meritocracy. The fight for equality, which is a good moral goal, should not damage the rights of the individual and their liberties.

Democracy and freedom are cojoined — together, they make freedom more durable. Democracy also has a self-correcting element — every four years you get to throw out leadership if you don’t like them (which you do not see in autocracies). But we all know that democracy can be sloppy: Maintaining an effective democracy is hard work. Democracy fosters open debate and compromise, which lead to better decisions over time (whether in government or in business). Intelligence is effectively “crowdsourced” with constant feedback. Good public policy comes from good debate and analytics, guided by reason coupled with a firm understanding of what you would like the outcomes to be and complemented with an honest assessment of what is really happening.

Even democracies can become stagnant, bureaucratic and self-perpetuating. Good government does many admirable things, but admitting to mistakes is often not one of them. It takes civically engaged citizens and a strong free press to bring sunlight to issues and keep a nation strong.

Autocratic societies by their nature subjugate the individual to the state. By definition they are not meritocracies — they are more about “who you know,” and they exist to perpetuate the existing ruling class. Their decisions are based on a completely different calculation, and their decision-making process does not encourage and, therefore, benefit from open debate. Democracy means that it is immoral to subjugate individual freedoms to state actors other than to protect the existence of the nation itself.

There are values that many of us hold dear, such as religion, family and country. But none may be more important than the freedoms that allow us to choose to live our life as we see fit. We should do more to applaud the virtue and amazing power of our freedoms.

HOW WE CAN HELP LIFT UP OUR LOW-INCOME CITIZENS AND MEND AMERICA’S TORN SOCIAL FABRIC

To fix problems, we must first acknowledge them. Despite decades of government programs and all the moralizing that surrounds them, we have not done a particularly good job lifting up our low-income fellow citizens. I may be wrong, but I do believe this is tearing at the social fabric of America and is among the root causes of the fraying of the American dream.

The gap between low-wage and well-paid workers has been growing dramatically. From 1979 to 2019, the wage growth of the top 10% was nearly 10 times that of the bottom 10% — which, basically, had not increased at all. The growth of low-income workers’ annualized real wages after the pandemic was, for the first time in decades, higher than the top 60%, but that’s not enough. The net worth for the bottom 25% of households is $20,800, and the net worth for the bottom 10% is essentially $0. This makes it increasingly difficult for low-wage workers to support their families. Of the 160 million Americans working today, approximately 40 million are paid less than $15 per hour.

Low-income individuals bear far greater burdens than the rest of us. Nearly 40% of Americans don’t have $400 in savings to deal with unexpected expenses, such as medical bills or car repairs, which leads to financial distress. More than 25 million Americans don’t have medical insurance at all; of these, one in five are in a family with income below the federal poverty level. People who live in low-income neighborhoods also tend to have worse health outcomes, including higher rates of mental health issues, depression and suicide, and a lower life expectancy — as many as 20 years. Finally, low-income Americans generally experience higher unemployment and more crime.

No one can claim that the promise of equal opportunity is being offered to all Americans through our education systems. Students in the lowest socioeconomic bracket are 50% less likely to attend college than those in the highest socioeconomic groups. Many inner city schools graduate under 50% of their students — and even those who graduate may not be well-prepared for the workforce. In addition, boys growing up in the bottom 10% of family income are 20 times more likely to be incarcerated. Those who do run afoul of our justice system generally do not get the second chance that many of them deserve. Their exclusion from the workforce is not only unfair to them but also results in an estimated $87 billion average annual cost to the economy.

Too many policies that are wrong — affecting housing and mortgage markets, healthcare, immigration, regulation, education and student lending, to name a few — are jeopardizing the opportunity for American citizens to succeed. The people who suffer the most, throughout all of this, are not high-income individuals. I strongly believe that these outcomes are destroying the concept of “fair” in America and are driving populism and diminishing, if not eliminating, trust — not only in government but in all our institutions. Simply put, the social needs of far too many of our citizens are not being met. We should never accept these outcomes — we must fix them.

There are two policy changes that I believe can have a dramatic effect on jobs, growth and equality — and they go a long way toward repairing the frayed American dream. Let’s start by treating all jobs with respect. Even starter jobs, which are the first rung on the ladder of opportunity, bring dignity and create better social outcomes in terms of health, higher household formation and lower crime. Of these two policy changes, one would better utilize existing resources, and the other would cost some money. But both would significantly change outcomes for low-income Americans.

The free one is so blindingly obvious that it’s almost embarrassing to propose. Our schools (high schools, community colleges and perhaps even four-year colleges) should take responsibility for outcomes — they should be judged on the quality and income level of the jobs that their graduates and even non-graduates attain. This means providing graduating students and other individuals with work skills (in fields such as advanced manufacturing, cyber, data science and technology, healthcare and so on) that will lead to better paying jobs. These schools should work with local businesses to replicate effective programs that are in place — because that is where the actual jobs are now. This would be good for growth and, as there are so many examples of successful programs, we already know what to do. With nearly 9 million job openings and just under 6 million unemployed workers in the United States, job skills training has never been needed more. We already spend a tremendous amount of money on education — just not the right way.

The second step is related to the first: Get more income to low-paid workers. While this one would cost money, it is to me a complete no-brainer since it is an expansion of an existing program, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which many Democrats and Republicans already agree upon. Today, the EITC supplements low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples, particularly with children and people living in rural areas. For example, a single mother with two children earning $9 an hour (approximately $20,000 a year) could receive a tax credit of more than $6,000 at year-end. Workers without children receive a very small tax credit (96% of all EITC dollars were received by families with children). This should be dramatically expanded, including eliminating the child requirement from the calculation altogether. We should convert the EITC to make it more like a negative income payroll tax, paid monthly. Any tax credit income should not be offset by any other benefits these individuals already receive (we have to eliminate benefit “cliffs” that disincentivize work).

An increase in the EITC to a maximum of $10,000 would cost tens of billions a year, but I have little doubt that these policy changes would do more than anything else to lift up low-income families and their communities. Well-paying jobs have been shown to reduce crime, increase household formation, improve health and reduce addiction. Both of these policies would have the virtue of increasing the number of people in the workforce. I also have little doubt that this would add to GDP.

We should attack all our other problems as well, but these two policy changes alone would dramatically improve our low-income neighborhoods, broadly strengthen the economy and give more opportunity to deserving citizens. It would restore the American Dream for many.

It’s been 20 years since the Bank One-JPMorgan Chase merger — and it’s been an extraordinary journey. I can’t even begin to express my heartfelt appreciation and respect for the tremendous character and capabilities of the management team who got us through the good times and the bad times to where we stand today. And I recognize that we all stand on the shoulders of many others who came before us in building this exceptional company of ours.

I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the 300,000+ employees, and their families, of JPMorgan Chase. Through these annual letters, I hope shareholders and all readers have gained a deeper understanding of what it takes to be an “endgame winner” in a rapidly changing world. More important, I hope you are as proud of what we all have achieved — as a business, as a bank and as a community investor — as I am. Thank you for your partnership.

Finally, we sincerely hope to see the world on the path to peace and prosperity.

Jamie Dimon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer April 8, 2024

Bank of Client Franchises Built Over the Long Term Note: figures may not sum due to rounding

JPMorgan Chase Exhibits Strength in Both Efficiency and Returns When Compared with Large Peers and Best-in-Class Peers

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Annual Report 2023

IMAGES

Global Warming Speech for Students in English
Greta Thunberg Climate Change Speech
Obama opens climate change speech with tribute to Paris
Debate speech
'How dare you?': Emotional Greta Thunberg calls out world leaders
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Climate change speech
Climate Change Speech by D.A.V Pratap Vihar
English Paragraph on Climate Change
Write Essay on climate change in English paragraph on climate change speech in English
Climate Change A Snooze, Video Quote of Marty Kaplan
Watch: Greta Thunberg makes powerful climate change speech in London

COMMENTS

Climate Change Essay for Students and Children
500+ Words Climate Change Essay. Climate change refers to the change in the environmental conditions of the earth. This happens due to many internal and external factors. The climatic change has become a global concern over the last few decades. Besides, these climatic changes affect life on the earth in various ways.
Climate Change Speech in English For Students
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.
Climate Change Essay
200 Words Essay on Climate Change. The climate of the Earth has changed significantly over time. While some of these changes were brought on by natural events like volcanic eruptions, floods, forest fires, etc., many of the changes were brought on by human activity. The burning of fossil fuels, domesticating livestock, and other human ...
Speech on Climate Change For Students
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 ...
Global Warming Speech for Students in English
Global Warming Speech 500- 700 Words (3- 5 Minutes) 10-Line Global Warming Speech. Causes of Global Warming. Ways to Tackle Global Warming. FAQs. It means a rise in global temperature due to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activities and inventions. In scientific words, Global Warming is when the earth heats (the temperature ...
What I learned about writing from reading Greta Thunberg's speech to
Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg, a Swedish environmental activist, recently delivered a short speech — about 500 words — to the U.N. Climate Action Summit in New York City. Here's an X-ray ...
Transcript: Greta Thunberg's Speech At The U.N. Climate Action Summit
By. NPR Staff. United Nations via YouTube. Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, addressed the U.N.'s Climate Action Summit in New York City on Monday. Here's the full transcript of Thunberg's ...
Climate Change Speech
The climate change that we are experiencing today can be summarised under the rapidly increasing temperature of the planet, this is a clear impact of global warming.I use the word rapid because when we compare the climate change that we are experiencing today with the climate change that this planet has gone through earlier, it can be noted that this time along the Earth's temperature is ...
Climate Change Essay for Students in English
500+ Words Essay on Climate Change. Climate change is a major global challenge today, and the world is becoming more vulnerable to this change. Climate change refers to the changes in Earth's climate condition. It describes the changes in the atmosphere which have taken place over a period ranging from decades to millions of years.
Climate Change Assay: A Spark Of Change
A spark of change. "Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted," says Aldous Huxley in one of his books. He perfectly summarises the biggest cause of the issues the world of today struggles with, the issues that are created by humans' tendency to ignore the consequences of their actions.
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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.
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Climate change is THE challenge of our times. It is up to us all to
Cannot be lost when other crises appear on our doorstep. Lost in the squabble of domestic politics. Lost in the squabble of trade and competition. Or get pushed to the back burner to win the next election or to pacify domestic climate deniers. Or pushed to the back burner to address economic woes. Climate change is THE challenge of our times.
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Introduction. This speech takes twenty minutes, provided I don't get heckled. But for those of you who are in a rush, here's the short version of what I'm going to say: Climate change is the ...
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It is necessary for all nations to adapt, and for the richest ones to assist the most vulnerable. Dear friends, This is the message I would like to make clear in addressing the world leaders this ...
Climate change: which words should we teach our learners?
Simply by looking at the most frequent verbs and nouns used to talk about climate change, we can get a sense of useful vocabulary to teach our learners. For example, the verb reduce is worth spotlighting. The verb reduce is among the most frequent verbs used in the climate change subcorpus of the Cambridge English Corpus and is used to talk ...
Remarks by President Biden on Actions to Tackle the Climate Crisis
Biden on Actions to Tackle the Climate. Crisis. 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 ...
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The goal of the climate action taken by governments and societies around the world is to reach "net zero.". That's the state where no more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are going into the atmosphere than can be taken out, and it means cutting emissions to as close to zero as possible.
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"From climate change to health to artificial intelligence, the equal participation of women and girls in scientific discovery and innovation is the only way to ensure that science works for ...
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Speech bubble with the word climate change. Related posts Justyna Matwiejczyk . Learning to Learn with Pippa and Pop . Justyna Matwiejczyk . Play in the pre-primary classroom . Julia Harris . How to approach mock tests to maximise learnings . Recent Posts. Learning to Learn with Pippa and Pop ...
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An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth
This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this ...
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Jamie Dimon's Letter to Shareholders, Annual Report 2023
WHAT WE LEARNED: A FIVE-POINT ACTION PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE . In May 2023, we gathered with knowledgeable and influential people from the energy industry writ large to the government and financial services arena in Scottsdale, Arizona, for an action forum.