Ladies and Gentlemen!

I brought something with me today.

A bottle of water.

You might think, well, that’s pretty trivial. But it’s not! 

It is something very, very precious from my home country, Austria.

Austrian drinking water straight from the spring.

For a long time, we assumed that clean, clear water was simply a given in our country. After all, we always had plenty of it. More than enough to drink, enough even to water our meadows.

Drinking water supplies in Austria are still mostly secure. But in some places, water ran short last summer. It was the hottest summer in our history. With no rain. The results were drought. And crop failures.

We suddenly realized how precious our water is. And that we have to take good care of it.

Other countries are hit much harder: Intensified by the effects of the “Super El Niño”, people are struggling with devastating droughts
in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

For others, the very ground they stand on is washed away, as in this year’s terrible flash flood in Nepal. 

The climate is changing fast. That threatens our resources, the very ground beneath our feet.

Our home.

No matter where we come from – we all are proud of our home. Of our “Heimat”. We cherish it, we care for it, we protect it.

We love our home. In Austria, that means snow-capped mountains. Lakes. Meadows. A white Christmas. Elsewhere, it is maple forests. Or coral reefs.

We have to face it:

By burning fossil fuels, we are destroying this very home we hold so dear.

European glaciers are melting. Irrevocably. The sea level is rising. Animals are losing their natural habitats.

So, let’s stop arguing about whether wind turbines look nice or not.

It's time to turn our ideas into action: E-mobility. Sustainable farming. Green tech. Especially green electricity supplies. 

We are doing far too little. And far too slowly.

So, let’s pick up the pace.

Cut greenhouse gas emissions! Cut the excuses!

For a home with clean air, pure water, healthy soil. A home rich in stunning plants – and beings.
That includes us.
And our children.
And their children.

Thank you.