Antonio Guterres pens message to his future great-great granddaughter
The UN Secretary General makes a climate change apology to future generations and issues a call to action...Peter Rusch
The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who spoke at The Ocean Race Summit in Cabo Verde, has penned a letter to future generations, speaking about action on climate change.
The text appears in TIME, a media partner of The Ocean Race
Addressed to his future great-great granddaughter, the letter acknowledges that "humanity is losing the fight of our lives: the battle against climate upheaval that threatens our planet."
Secretary General Guterres goes on to write, "We are making a mess of our planet through bottomless greed, timid action, and an addiction to fossil fuels that is driving temperatures to unlivable new highs around the world every year..."
And he chastises world leaders for not taking strong enough action.
But he is hopeful: "We have the information we need. We have the tools and technology. What we need is the political will to forge a peace pact with nature and transform how we grow food, use land, fuel transport, and power economies."
The Secretary General closes with heartfelt words: "My dear great-great-granddaughter, by the time you open this letter, you will have your answer. You will know whether we succeeded or failed in our fight for your future.
"You are decades from birth, but I already hear you. The central question from you and all humanity both haunts and motivates me."