 Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to be part of this distinguished panel of State of the World Closing Session of this very prestigious World Proceed Conference. I would like to also express my appreciation to the office of Prime Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan because they support my attendance here today. And, merci Monsieur Thierre du Montbril, pour cette opportunité. First I admit that I am a little lost here, not because I am the last speaker of the last session of the last day. It is because I am standing on this podium among an elite group of panelists to talk about the state of the world. Well my background is not geopolitics or not international relations. I am an economist by training and I am conducting research in the field of energy and climate change. And I am also a mother of two beautiful daughters and I am also a grandmother of two adorable grandchildren. Therefore, I think I have a perfect excuse to talk about the state of the world because it concerns me. Well, although we have a tendency to think about in terms of months or years, like politicians or journalists, we also need to talk or think in terms of decades. As a young Japanese researcher or economist two decades ago, I remember discussing the details of the Kyoto Protocol. We wanted to believe that we were going forward, but also we were aware that we were running out of time. Twenty years later the planet is warmer, but it is still here. And we will most certainly be there for centuries to come. On the other hand, the future generations will inherit the world in the state as we left it for them or as we leave it for them. As long as Paris pushes the world into the future and as long as it goes further than the Kyoto did, the world we are going to leave to the next generation will be fine, I hope to think. On the other hand, the future generations will actually face this world as we leave it, so I hope to believe that the world will be improved in the future, I hope. I choose to believe we do not need more signatures on a piece of paper, but we need far more conviction and actions. Seventy-five years ago, the little prince, Louboutie Prince Dantouande Saint-Exupéry, was already a keen observer of the state of our world. He said, the earth is not just an ordinary planet. Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, the earth is our living space. We should take good care of it. Of course, this may not be a good introduction for discussion on the current state of the world as advised by our moderator. But what does the state of the world mean? Is it like a health check or is it like a report card on what is wrong and what is right? If it is like a summary of the news, what do I know about the current state of the world that you do not know yet? Unfortunately, we rarely get a balanced view of all global events, because it is more newsworthy to report on disasters and tragedies than good news. So far at this conference, I have had references to issues in the EU, the Balkans, the Middle East, or Asia, and also heard about wars, refugees, disruptions, and growing inequalities. I also heard about tolerance, cooperation, peace, and prosperity, and I also heard about rising Africa. Looking at the sky, oh, I'm sorry, I would like to say a few things before that. It is easier to remember the unresolved disagreements among us that inevitably affect our perception of the state of the world we live in. But looking at the sky lying on the ground at night and looking for shooting stars used to carry a touch of romance for everybody, young and old. For many around the world, shooting stars have been replaced by rockets and ballistic missiles? Is that the state of the world we accept to live in? Or just one more example of what is not acceptable? I choose to believe that our world is getting better and better, not worse. But we need to detect the basic vital signs to assess the overall state of our world. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is easier said than done for a little mother from a little island in the corner of Asia. So I did, like our current generation of students do, I turned to the internet. My two daughters confirm that a smart smartphone can be the source of all real and fake information. Believe it or not, in less than three seconds, the internet made me very happy because I got one million results on state of the world with Bing and 1.7 billion hits with Google. How can I go wrong? To my surprise, Janet Jackson's song, State of the World, is by far a more popular subject, about nine out of 10 research references. I must admit that the song's lyrics confirmed many of our thoughts. What is happening in our home and other lands? Drugs and crime are spreading while people can't find enough to eat. Kids can't go out and play without fear. That's the state of the world today. There's got to be better way. Can't give up hope now. I choose to be convinced that the overall state of our world is doing better than that. Two years ago, and just before the COP 21 in Paris, I was on this World Policy Conference podium in Montwell, Switzerland. My presentation highlighted two topics. The first, I emphasize that we are still lacking technologies, finance, and policies to address climate change in a large volume required to decarbonize our energy use. But we can still do it while optimizing the total cost of mitigation, adaptation, and damage. Secondly, in order to meet the two degrees target, though, we need to collect our resources and wisdom to speed up and collaborate. Then in Paris Agreement, when the Paris Agreement was adopted and ratified, actually unexpectedly swiftly, this good news traveled the world. But soon we faced setbacks and uncertainties that many people have mentioned already so far in three days. Because of political turmoil and geopolitical issues, those are the matters we discussed, as I said, over the last three days. We also need to remember that 1.2 billion people are still without energy access today, and many more to come probably. And energy is required for economic development. It is not only power generation which requires energy. We also need energy for cement, steel, or petrochemical products for roads, buildings, and infrastructures. All of these need to happen, but they cannot be achieved in a world where neighbors never stop fighting. Unfortunately, I must stress that there is no time to waste. We need astronomical numbers of non-emitting power stations, and they are needed in order to bring down the CO2 emissions to zero. And I stress zero. According to surveys, we continue to express high concerns towards air pollution, water scarcity, and food security. It is mind-boggling to think that only 150 years ago, the world population was 1 billion. 75 years ago, it was 2.5, and now 7 billion, and rising to maybe 9 or 10 billion within the next 75 years. Will the state of our world be accommodating this? Can we make this sustainable in a zero emission world? On the other hand, there is progress on gender gap, health, and education. There are also opportunities for innovations, technologies, economic development, trade, and investments. Ladies and gentlemen, although from time to time the world faces setbacks caused by the fragility of peace and profound social instabilities, I am very happy to see the world community thus believe in dialogue and at least can agree on major issues such as climate. As Chilly said, statements such as never can become maybe or perhaps. I choose to believe that one day we will report that the state of the world is no longer in intensive care or nor in critical state. But we will report that it is slowly heading towards a great healthy future. As Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Abe said recently, now is the time to bring together the wisdom of mankind. I am sure there is enough wisdom in this room to get started, and I sincerely hope that my grand-grandchildren will enjoy looking for shooting stars. Thank you very much.