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.

Thirty-nine monarchs have lived here
and enjoyed 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 lay
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.

And 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.