In the General Assembly and other global forums we hear many words spoken about the challenges we face, from the growing intensity of armed conflicts to the devastating effects of climate change. We discuss the task of providing for a growing global population with limited resources and overexploited ecosystems. We debate the opportunities of emerging technologies that can transform our lives but can also trigger the destruction of our democratic way of life. Those challenges have one common denominator. They are human-made, and it therefore falls to us to deliver human-made solutions. The time for talking, discussion and promises is over. The Assembly must start by working for the ultimate purpose for which the United Nations was founded — the restoration of peace.
Last year we recorded more conflict-related deaths in the world than in any year since 1994. Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an immediate neighbour of Slovakia, has greatly contributed to that rise. For more than 570 days. Russia’s forces have been killing innocent Ukrainian civilians, kidnapping children and destroying towns and cities. They have bombed infrastructure and ports that export Ukraine’s grain to people who need it in Bangladesh and Egypt. That is why Moscow must let that grain leave Ukrainian ports. We do indeed need a New Agenda for Peace, as the Secretary-General rightly said, but first and foremost we need action for peace from Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council.
The Climate Ambition Summit starts today. But when it comes to our planet, the time for action is running out. Our cities are becoming warmer, our oceans more acidic and our lands more arid. That is a result of human-caused climate change. This summer gave us another preview of what we can expect if we sit on our hands. In scientific report after report, we see the same conclusion — we are not doing enough. The current pace of our reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions and our mitigation measures is not sufficient to prevent a 1.5°C rise in the global temperature by 2100. Globally, our emissions still exceed the levels we agreed on in the Paris Agreement. We can still prevent the worst-case scenarios. Global emissions must peak before 2030. That is seven years from now. and it is our responsibility, not that of the Governments that will come after us. If we are to see results seven years from now. we must all act today. Let us turn that ambition into our joint and global commitment. Feasible, effective and low-cost options for mitigation and adaptation are already available. They can speed up our green transition.
In Slovakia, we are doing our share. Eighty-five per cent of our electricity is already produced with zero emissions. In the next seven years, we will use 5 per
cent of our gross domestic product to decarbonize our economy and increase the use of renewables. In 2030. our emissions will be 55 per cent lower than in 1990.
Europe may be warming twice as fast as any other continent, but Africa, while responsible for less than 4 per cent of global emissions, is the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Working together as partners, we can solve that challenge. The green technologic s that already exist must be made available to everyone. Slovakia will continue to meet its obligations under the global climate finance commitments.
My final point about climate change is simple. But we need to wake up. We are not battling an external threat. This is not a meteor heading for Earth. It is an existential crisis that we ourselves have created, and we alone must solve it.
These crises are hitting hardest those who are least responsible for their creation — vulnerable populations, women and children and the world’s poorest peoples. We cannot achieve peace and prosperity if they are excluded. We have been acknowledging that women’s rights are human rights for decades. It is time to turn those words into action. Our collective wealth can enable us to provide dignified conditions for everyone on the planet. But today, halfway to 2030. only 12 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals are on track. Those targets are not advisory guidelines. They are benchmarks for creating a world built on fairness, equity and stability.
Seventy-five years ago. we adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human dignity, freedom and justice must be universally protected. That is even more important today, when new technologies promise to unlock huge potential in areas such as public health, connectivity and addressing climate change. However, technological progress sometimes moves faster than human minds and emotions can evolve. The rapid rise of social media platforms and the related flood of disinformation and hate speech prove that. Platforms have removed barriers across the globe, linking people as never before, but they have also destroyed barriers that protected others’ rights and integrity. Any technology must be used with one goal in mind — ensuring the dignity and rights of every individual. If these issues are not addressed, social media platforms, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies can act like steroids on our current crises. That is why we cannot postpone their democratic regulation. Facts and science are essential to overcoming our global challenges. The coronavirus disease pandemic illustrated that well. Disinformation is undermining our efforts to build consensus and a common vision. If humankind continues to build alternative truths and we continue to distrust one another, we will never be able to take the action we need to address these universal challenges.
In my final words. I would like to leave the Assembly with a message of hope. When I meet with young people in Slovakia. I am left with a feeling of great optimism for the future. Data shows that equality is the most important societal value for them. We should listen to our children and work to achieve a vision of humankind where equality is the rule, not the exception, where development can be sustainable and climate-resilient and where we can live in peace. They are looking to us to take action. The cost of our joint failure is not an abstraction. It will be counted in concrete deaths, displacement, injustice and the loss of species and ecosystems. We politicians are often asked about our legacy. Should this be our legacy? For me the choice is clear, and our response should be clear as well.