at 12:12 PM by Mallory Schnell

UN Climate Summit

The UN Climate Summit was held in New York City yesterday, and brought in leaders from all around the world to discuss the current climate crisis. One hundred Heads of State and Government as well as over 800 leaders from business, financial, and civil sects attended the conference in an effort to catalyze action and reduce the impacts of climate change. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon led the summit with the intent of working towards a universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015. He wrote a summary after the conference, which can be found here. Some of the goals outlined as a result of the Climate Summit include cutting emissions, moving markets, mobilizing money, and putting a price on carbon.

via UN
via UN

One of the noteworthy speakers of the day was President Barack Obama. His entire speech can be read here, but in it he called the nation and world to action:

So the climate is changing faster than our efforts to address it.  The alarm bells keep ringing.  Our citizens keep marching.  We cannot pretend we do not hear them.  We have to answer the call.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio also spoke at the conference; DiCaprio was recently named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. When speaking about climate change, he claimed, “None of this is rhetoric, and none of this is hysteria. It is fact.” Later on in the meeting, he called the leaders of the world to action: “Leaders of the world, I pretend for a living, but you do not.” For Leonardo DiCaprio’s speech, see below: