 My friends, if we're to recognize that a better, more hopeful future of every nation has to do its part with ambitious targets to keep 1.5 degrees in reach and specific plans on how to get there, especially the major economies, it's imperative we support developing nations so they can be our partners in this effort. Right now, we're still falling short. There's no more time to hang back or sit in the fence or argue amongst ourselves. This is the challenge of our collective lifetimes. The existential threat to human existence as we know it. And every day we delay, the cost of inaction increases. So let this be the moment that we answer history's call here in Glasgow. Let this be the start of a decade of transformative action that preserves our planet and raises the quality of life for people everywhere. We can do this. We just have to make a choice to do it. That was President Joe Biden speaking at the UN Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP26, which is indeed taking place this week. And his speech was fine, I guess. I just can't help but feel a little bit deflated because no matter what these world leaders say, they're not taking climate change seriously. They say the right thing, but then they don't do the right thing. They don't address this crisis with the severity that is needed. And so it just feels like all of their speeches is intended to placate climate change activists. Just make it seem as if they're trying to do what's needed when they're not. And that's not to say that there haven't been good things that have come out of this at this point in time. I think that there's a really solid commitment from the Biden administration. He joined the High Ambition Coalition, which is an alliance of countries that are committed to keeping warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is very ambitious. That's what's needed to stop catastrophic levels of climate change is unlikely, as that goal may be. But while we have some countries like the United States do more this time around in comparison to when Donald Trump was president, you have other countries like Australia under the leadership of the Morrison government refused to cut methane emissions and even host a fossil fuel company at its pavilion. So it just it feels like this time, you know, the US might be on point while Australia is fumbling. But in a couple of years, when there's changes in leadership, we'll have a Republican administration and then they're the ones fumbling and Australia does better. I mean, regardless, it's very clear to me that global capitalism has led to all of these world leaders and world powers dragging their feet. And even if they continue to say the right thing, it's to the point where we have to see real action, otherwise we're all going to die. I mean, that's to be frank, to be blunt. I don't know what the world is going to look like when I'm the age of these world leaders. Am I going to anticipate or should I anticipate wars over water? Should I anticipate increased global fascism because of the refugee crises that is going to inevitably result when areas of the globe are uninhabitable and we see mass movement of people? I don't know what the fuck to expect. So it's my future that I want them to care about. And they say that they do, but it feels like they don't. And apparently me feeling ambivalent, I'm not alone because there were a lot of activists that were heckling these world leaders. And that was honestly really refreshing to see because they're not treating it like the crisis that it is. And, you know, maybe it's the case that I'm being a little bit too cynical, but apparently a lot of climate activists feel the same way. And here's some videos of them protesting these world leaders, not necessarily protesting, but trying to get the word out that what they're doing is not sufficient. And there's a message from an activist there that says exactly what I think that these world leaders need to hear. Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you! Here to protest, to raise awareness of the need for urgent action on the climate ecological emergency, mostly because with our political processes, we're left with almost no other routes to make a difference. Like, what do I do as an individual to try to make sure that our world leaders choose to save our own lives? We're going down an utterly absurd route of deciding as a species to kill ourselves. And we have to step up and say, no, that's completely absurd. Let's choose a route that saves ourselves. And protesting seems to be the only effective way to do that. So I'm here doing my best to make my voice heard. I guess I'm here because I think it's important that the decision makers know that people care. So we need to make some noise, make sure they know that we're watching, we're listening, we're holding to account for the decisions that they're making so that we're working towards global justice, climate justice, and not just making the decisions that only benefit a few people, but rather to make decisions that benefit everyone. That video gave me hope because when I think about the ramifications of climate change, oftentimes I kind of get in my own head and it feels like I'm the only one who's dealing with it. But it reminded me that we're all dealing with this together. This isn't something that we're facing. That's a unique issue. We're all as a species dealing with it. And young people are going to be particularly frustrated. And something that that guy said, it's that to me said, we're going down the utterly absurd route of deciding as a species to kill ourselves, and that's just it. I mean, we as a species are insane. We're suicidal. The reluctance of world leaders to address this meaningfully, it speaks to a defect in our species as human beings that we just we don't we don't care about the species. We think about the short term and in particular short term profits of the fossil fuel industry who funds a lot of these world governments or governments who are world leaders. And it's just it's frustrating. Now, as distraught as young people may be, nobody is going to experience climate change quite like island countries. And so the president of Palau had a really, really powerful speech that that I think everyone needs to see where he talked about what world leaders, what developed countries are doing to island nations like Palau. The Palau legend of Wab illustrates our state of emergency. Wab was a boy who grew into a giant that wouldn't stop growing due to his unruly appetite. The whole island community was forced to feed him. Wab's feeding depleted all the natural resources and finally threatened. He threatened to eat his people. To save themselves, the villagers banded together, took bold action and set fire to him. This is eerily reminiscent of today's world as large emitters with their insatiable appetite for advancement are continuing to abuse our environment, threatening our very survival. Cop 26 must light the fire. We, the islands that are devastated most demand that your commitments of one hundred billion annually be increased to meet the four billion dollars the World Bank reports is needed. We see the scorching sun is giving us intolerable heat. The warming sea is invading us. The strong winds are blowing us every which way. Our resources are disappearing before our eyes and our future is being robbed from us. Frankly speaking, there is no dignity to a slow and painful death. You might as well bomb our islands instead of making us suffer only to witness our slow and fateful demise. Leaders of the G20, we are drowning. And our only hope is the life ring you are holding. You must act now. We must act together. As we say in our Palauan chant, It says, when traveling in one canoe, the score among the sailors will gap size the boat. The chant reminds us that we need to deliver on our commitments and we must move in unison toward one point five to stay alive. The villagers burned the giant Wa and as he fell to his death, he created over 300 islands of our islands. Bold, unified action led to transformation. We must act together. We owe this to each other and we owe this to our children. I mean, it doesn't get any more blunt and bleak to be clear than that. You might as well bomb our islands instead of making us suffer only to witness our slow demise. So, you know, I see this and I'm hopeful because people are not taking. You know, these mere concessions from politicians anymore, they're standing up and they're demanding action on climate change now. And that's something that is relatively new. There's always been environmental activism. There's always been a lot of people who speak up with regard to climate change and climate catastrophe. But now more people than ever are waking up to the fact that we might not have a future. We might not have a habitable planet if we don't take action right now. In this decade, we have a limited window to act and world leaders just aren't doing enough. And the fact that people acknowledge that and are putting pressure on these world leaders as they gather, that does mean something to me. So as doomer as I may feel when I watch these speeches and again, Joe Biden's speech wasn't bad. I mean, it's better than a Trump speech on climate change where he just denies the existence of anthropogenic climate change. But I want more than words. In fact, I need more than words as a species. We need more than words because you can say the right thing. But at the end of the day, if you don't do what's needed to save the planet, you're no different than the climate change deniers, at least substantively. So I'll leave that there. COP26 took place. I just thought you should know wanted to provide you with some highlights.