2024 World Environment Day Event

A recording of these remarks can be found on YouTube and Tencent.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, we gather to mark World Environment Day.

First held in 1973, World Environment Day has become the largest global platform for environmental outreach. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme, World Environment Day raises awareness about critical environmental issues, from climate change to chemical pollution. Every year, hundreds of millions of people are mobilized to take action to protect the planet.

This year, World Environment Day focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience under the theme “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration”, giving us the chance to shine a spotlight on solutions to protect our land.

Land sustains life on earth. 

Farmland, forests, grasslands, savannahs and mountains provide humanity with the goods and services that make civilization possible. Those landscapes are underpinned by aquatic ecosystems, such as rivers, lakes and oceans, which sustain the water cycles that keep land fertile.

But the world’s ecosystems are under threat. 

Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption are driving the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Over one-fifth of the Earth’s land area, some 2 billion hectares, is degraded.

As the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, stated, “Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. Nature always strikes back – and it is already doing so with growing force and fury.”

Earth needs a helping hand. The triple planetary crisis threatens to destroy the only home we have and to eliminate millions of species with which we share this beautiful planet.

But this degradation is not inevitable. 

We have the knowledge and capacity to reverse the harm and restore the environment – what we are missing is the will to take action. 

Ecosystem restoration has never been more urgent. Many countries around the world are realizing this. Among these efforts include the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed to in 2022. This landmark pact to protect nature commits countries to several targets, including ensuring that by 2030, at least 30 per cent of degraded terrestrial, inland water, marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration plans.

For decades, China has been carrying out large-scale ecological restoration projects, which have achieved remarkable results. The launch of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration has also seen China contribute to this cause. This includes the "Shan-Shui Initiative", put forward by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Finance. This ambitious effort to restore 10 million hectares of ecosystems across China has been recognized as a World Restoration Flagship, one of 10 pioneering global efforts to revive nature.

Every one of us has a role to play. By joining forces, governments, businesses, civil society and individuals can give nature a helping hand and forge a more sustainable world for generations to come. Today’s gathering is one of these opportunities to showcase the actions China and the world are taking.

Ladies and gentlemen, 

We are the generation that can make peace with nature. Together, let us be the generation that takes a stand, protects our land and environment, and secures a sustainable future for all.

Thank you.