Trudeau Addresses NATO on Climate Change
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Words per Minute
122.90404
Summary
Learn English with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Justin Trudeau delivers a speech at the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence in Montreal, Canada, where he speaks about climate change and the challenges it poses to NATO's ability to defend itself and its allies.
Transcript
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Canada and NATO have long recognized an indisputable fact.
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Climate change is not only an existential environmental threat,
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but one of the defining security issues of our time.
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Canada and NATO know for a long time that climate change is not only a environmental threat,
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but also one of the most important challenges of security of our time.
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Rising sea levels and increasingly frequent and intense natural disasters
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threaten security infrastructure like ports and military bases that keep our alliance safe.
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A warming Arctic is opening up a new arena of competition that our adversaries are eager to exploit.
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And climate-induced floods, famines, and droughts exacerbate inequality,
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fuel conflict, and drive displacement across the globe,
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all of which disproportionately harm marginalized and vulnerable populations.
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Overall, climate change risks creating a less stable, less prosperous, and less secure world.
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Back home, our government has shown global leadership in addressing the climate crisis.
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We've placed a price on pollution that simultaneously reduces our emissions
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and puts more money in the pockets of 8 out of 10 Canadians.
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We launched Canada's first national adaptation strategy
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to build stronger and more resilient communities.
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We became the first major oil-producing nation to introduce a cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector.
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And we're creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying, sustainable jobs from coast to coast to coast
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with our $160 billion investment in our net-zero economic plan and green industrial strategy.
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Showing every step of the way that good climate policy is good economic policy.
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What gathers us here today is that it is also good security policy.
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Addressing a global problem like climate change requires a global response.
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A global response which we've been coordinating in close partnership with our 31 fellow member states in NATO.
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Our government has been a strong advocate for ensuring that climate change is an integral part of NATO's agenda
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Notre gouvernement a toujours insisté pour que la lutte contre les changements climatiques fasse partie du programme de l'OTAN.
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In 2021, the Alliance published the NATO Climate Change and Security Action Plan,
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a plan which recognized the risks that climate change poses to NATO
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and pledged to take action to address those challenges.
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In 2022 and 2023, Canada co-led a climate change working group with Denmark and Norway
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to identify and establish NATO's climate research priorities.
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And we spearheaded the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence,
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which we were proud to launch last year that will be housed in downtown Montreal.
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This centre serves as a critical research platform to ensure that NATO allies and partners
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are equipped with the information they need to succeed in a climate changed world.
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To plan for and adapt to and mitigate the security risks and impacts caused by climate change.
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And to forge strong partnerships with organisations like the Munich Security Conference
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and the CDA Institute that are committed to addressing the security challenges posed by the climate crisis.
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So today, I'm excited to celebrate with you all the important milestone for the centre.
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Just a few weeks ago, the Alliance accredited it as an official NATO centre of excellence,
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This important step was many months in the making and was only made possible by the strong support
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of the 11 sponsoring nations, 11 NATO allies who, like us, see the value of standing up
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a world-class security-focused climate research body.
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We're looking forward to seeing what the centre will accomplish, and we expect to see many
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more nations join in this work in the coming years.
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This centre of excellence, along with our leadership of the multinational NATO-led battle group in
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Latvia, our continued efforts to train Ukrainian military personnel through Operation Unifier,
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and our new defence policy vision, which invests $73 billion in defence over the next two decades,
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all demonstrate Canada's unwavering resolve to support the Alliance.
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When we took office, Canada was spending less than 1% of its GDP on defence every year.
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But we vowed to change that right away, and we followed through on our word.
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We're investing more in our troops, in our capacity, and in our capabilities, all while
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continuing to provide assistance to our allies resisting Russian aggression.
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NATO is the strongest military alliance in the world.
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And to keep it that way, we must continue to step up, individually and collectively,
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to strengthen both our alliance and the collective peace it represents and protects.
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Canada will always defend the values of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law,
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as it is more important today than it ever has been.
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My friends, we must be clear-eyed about the current state of global affairs.
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The long peace after the Second World War is over.
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We're living in an increasingly dangerous, unstable, and complex world.
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Cyber warfare, resurgent authoritarian forces, expanding regional conflicts,
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and everywhere, increasing impacts of climate change.
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All represent growing threats to our collective security and our continued prosperity.
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That's why Canada will continue to work closely with like-minded allies to tackle these challenges
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We will grow our global partnerships, and we will always do what is needed
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to forge a stronger, more united NATO, and to keep us all safe.