Former President of Mexico and New Climate Economy Chair Felipe Calderón urged participants at Abu Dhabi Ascent on Sunday, May 4th to pursue economic action on climate change. Abu Dhabi Ascent was a high-level meeting hosted by the United Arab Emirates to generate momentum for the 23 of September Climate Summit at the United Nations. For two days, government ministers and leaders from business, finance, and civil society discussed proposals for actions and how their countries, businesses, and organizations can increase their participation to deliver concrete action at the September Summit.
Former President Calderón addressed the assembly to rally support for rejecting the false belief that acting on climate change is too costly and urged the body to pursue economic growth strategies and climate change action together:
We believe that the trade-off between economic growth and tackling climate change is a false dilemma. It is possible to promote economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation, and at the same time reduce emissions.
If we can demonstrate that, if we can design the path to a growing economy with lower carbon emissions, many decision makers will change their minds.
The full transcript of President Calderón’s speech is available below.
