It's time to build the best possible world for future generations, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today in her opening address to the United Nations Climate Action summit.
"It will not be easy," she said. "But our generation, we have it within our grasp, not just to prevent the worst, but to build the best possible world for the generations to come."
She opened her speech talking about the confronting case in the Pacific.
Ms Ardern recently visited the remote atolls of Tokelau in the South Pacific where she talked to some of it's 1500 population about the realities of climate change.
"They have a story not often heard but a message that must be shared," she said.
"It’s a message underscored by their new coastal walls which are already toppling over from the assault by the sea, by their seaside burial grounds, which are eroding and shifting, and by the children who tell you they are worried about the future of their home."
Ms Ardern spoke directly to UN secretary general António Guterres in her speech - he too had visited the area and was struck by the impacts of climate change.
"If we are to overcome the extraordinary threat that climate change poses we all must start with an honest appraisal of our current situation," Ms Ardern said.
She's previously spoken out about having "no qualms" bringing up the issue with any world leader, and has been an advocate for the issue including discussing New Zealand's stance.
Ms Ardern talked about what the New Zealand was doing to combat the issue - starting my mentioning 80 per cent of electricity comes from renewable hydro and wind.
At the summit she also talked about the Government's Zero Carbon Bill, strengthening the Emissions Trading Scheme to more effectively price climate pollution and the aim to plant one billion trees by 2028 – with 150 million are already in the ground.
Ms Ardern also spoke about transport and the shift to more environmentally-friendly options.
"Our business community is stepping up with a Climate Leaders’ Coalition that together represents fully 60 per cent of New Zealand’s gross emissions.
"Our farming leaders have made their own commitment to cutting emissions from food production. Over the next five years we will collaborate to build systems that every farmer will be able to use to measure, manage and reduce their own farm’s emissions.
The PM met with her British and American counterparts, as well as with key leaders from the tech industry. (Source: Other)
"We are determined to show that we can be the most sustainable food producers in the world. That’s why we will continue to lead international collaboration through the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouses Gases. We are determined that New Zealand can and will play our part in the global effort."
In her keynote address to the UN Secretary-General's Climate Action Summit private sector forum, she discussed two versions of the future.
"If we only talk about the loss of glacier mass or sea level rises we run the risk of a society that believes all is lost and that it is simply too late. It is not.
"No one has the luxury of copping out - not those who deny climate change, nor those who believe it’s too far gone. Now is the time for optimism and for hope and crucially a plan."
She suggested three related areas where collaboration, both between countries and between governments and the private sector, could deliver huge cuts in climate pollution:
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