This decade calls for Earthshots to repair our planet

- Hello, everyone.

Growing up in my family gives you

a certain sense of history.

I'm simply the latest in a line

that can be traced back generations.

This oak tree is close to Windsor Castle,

which has been home to my
family for over 900 years.

39 monarchs have lived here.

I enjoy these beautiful surroundings.

I've walked here many times myself,

and it always amazes me that
some of the trees planted here,

living organisms dependent
on soil, rain, and sunlight,

were here as they laid the
first stones of Windsor Castle.

That makes some of the oaks
here, almost 1,000 years old.

These trees germinated during the reign

of William the Conqueror in 1066,

from a simple acorn like this.

By the time that Henry VIII lived here,

they'd grown into mature,
impressive giants.

And amazingly, some of
those very same trees,

still survive here today.

They're a bit gnarled and hollowed-out,

but they're still very much alive.

While these oaks have been growing,

around 35 billion people
have lived their lives

on our planet.

That's 35 billion lifetimes worth of hope,

love, fear, and dreams.

In that time, humankind
has invented air travel,

vaccines, and computers.

We've explored every part of the globe,

sequenced the human genome,

and even escaped Earth's atmosphere.

Our speed of innovation
has been incredible,

but so, too, has the
acceleration of our impact.

Over my grandmother's lifetime,
the last 90 years or so,

our impacts accelerated
so fast, that our climate,

oceans, air, nature, and
all that depends on them

are in peril.

This oak has stood here for centuries,

but never has it faced a decade like this.

We start this new decade,
knowing that it is the most

consequential period in history.

The science is irrefutable.

If we do not act in this decade,

the damage that we have
done, will be irreversible.

And the effects felt not
just by future generations,

but by all of us alive today.

And what's more, this
damage will not be felt

equally by everyone.

It is the most vulnerable.

Those with the fewest resources

and those who've done the
least to cause climate change,

who will be impacted the most.

These stark facts are terrifying.

How can we hope to fix such
massive intractable problems?

It may seem overwhelming,
but it is possible.

Humans have an extraordinary capacity

to set goals and strive to achieve them.

I've long been inspired by
president John F. Kennedy's

1961 mission, to put a man
on the moon within a decade.

He named it, the Moonshot.

It seemed crazy.

We'd only just launched
the first satellite.

Putting a man on the moon that
quickly seemed impossible.

But this simple challenge
encompassed so much.

He called it a goal to
organize and measure

the best of our energies and skills.

In taking that giant leap for mankind,

the team behind the Moonshot,
united millions of people

around the world.

That this crazy ambition,
wasn't so crazy after all.

And along the way, it helped the invention

of breathing equipment, CAT
scanners, and solar panels.

But now rather than a
Moonshot for this decade,

we need Earthshots.

We must harness that same
spirit of human ingenuity

and purpose, and turn it with
laser sharp focus and urgency

on the most pressing
challenge we have ever faced,

repairing our planet.

The shared goals for our
generation are clear.

Together, we must protect
and restore nature,

clean our air, revive our oceans,

build a waste-free world,
and fix our climate.

But we must strive to do
all of this in a decade.

If we achieve these goals,

by 2030 our lives won't be worse

and we won't have to
sacrifice everything we enjoy.

Instead, the way we
live will be healthier,

cleaner, smarter, and
better for all of us.

The global response to
the COVID-19 pandemic,

and the funds flowing
into the economic recovery

demonstrate how much can be achieved,

when those in positions
of power come together

and decide to act.

We built hospitals overnight,
repurposed factories,

poured billions into
the search for a vaccine

and better treatments.

And we've been inspired by heroes emerging

in every community across the world.

Young people no longer believe
that change is too difficult.

They witnessed the world turn on its head.

They believe that the climate crisis

and the threat to our biodiversity

deserves our full attention and ambition.

And they're right.

So now is the time for each
one of us to show leadership.

Whether you're a farmer in the US,

a tech owner in China,
a politician in Kenya,

a banker in Britain, a
fishermen in the Maldives,

a community leader in Brazil,
or a student in India.

Every single one of us has a role to play

in harnessing whatever
opportunity we have.

I'm committed to using the unique position

that I have, to help set
those Earthshot goals

and reward people, across
every sector of society

and in every part of the world

who do their bit to help achieve them.

Some people are motivated
to act by a crisis,

but for many, the
incentive to act only comes

when they believe that change is possible.

That it isn't a lost cause.

If people really believe
that these challenges,

these Earthshots are possible,

just imagine all the
potential we will unleash.

I'm determined to both
start and end this decade

as an optimist.

Whilst our generation
represents just a blip

in the lifetime of these magnificent oaks,

we have the power and
potential, to ensure that they

and all life on Earth,

thrive for another
thousand years and more.

But only if we now unleash
the greatest talents

of our generation, to repair our planet.

We have no choice, but to succeed.

Thank you.