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Climate change is an unprecedented and growing threat – to peace and prosperity and the same in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals. But addressing climate change is a massive opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.First, let me briefly outline the threat. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide continue to rise. They are now topping the critical threshold of 400 parts per million. Last year was once again the hottest on record. The past decade has also been the hottest on record. Sea ice is at a historic low; sea levels at a historic high. This trend is indisputable. There is no longer any doubt. Human activity is causing dangerous global warming.This is not a question of opinion. Scientists around the world have been sounding the alarm for years. Their work has been reviewed and endorsed by all the world’s governments through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We are dealing with scientific facts, not politics. And the facts are clear. Climate change is a direct threat in itself and a multiplier of many other threats.We face serious risks across the whole of the 2030 Agenda.Food security is under threat around the world due to more droughts. To food insecurity we must add economic insecurity, as scarcities of staple crops cause price surges. Water insecurity is also growing around the world. One third of the world’s population already lives in countries experiencing water stress. As water gets more scarce, it threatens to become a catalyst for conflict.Climate change is a menace to livelihoods, to property, and to business, not least insurance companies. Wildfires are becoming more common. So too are floods and other extreme weather events. Sea-level rise threatens the existence of low-lying nations and cities from Miami to Mumbai. The seas are also being affected by acidification and coral bleaching, threatening the whole marine food chain.All these risks mean poverty will worsen and people will be forced to move from degraded lands to cities and other nations. That is why military minds around the world take climate change very seriously – indeed as a threat multiplier with direct consequences for peace and security.So when we see a threat, what should we do? It is very clear that we should act.Action has been slow coming, but just over a year ago, in Paris, the world acted decisively. The Paris Agreement on climate change is unique in its universality. Every single government signed it. After it was adopted in December 2015, the Agreement entered force in less than a year. To date, more than 130 Parties have ratified it, and the numbers are growing monthly. The United Nations is committed to helping all Member States to implement the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.The countries that supported the Paris Agreement are the same that adopted the Sustainable Development Goals – they comprise all United Nations Member States. And the reason for this consensus is clear: all nations recognize that implementing the 2030 Agenda goes hand-in-glove with limiting global temperature rise and increasing climate resilience.ANTÓNIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY-GENERAL, THE UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA“GOVERNMENTS AND BUSINESS INCREASINGLY UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS NO TRADE-OFF BETWEEN A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT AND A HEALTHY ECONOMY ”116 SUMMATION