“Many say our world is at a tipping point. If we do not act together, if we do not act responsibly, if we do not act now, we risk slipping into a cycle of poverty, degradation, and despair.”

World military spending has now risen to over $1.2 trillion. This incredible sum represents 2.5 per cent of GDP (global gross domestic product). Even if 1 per cent of it were redirected towards development, the world would be much closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

A deal must include an equitable global governance structure. All countries must have a voice in how resources are deployed and managed.

Let us acknowledge and celebrate what youth can do to build a safer, more just world. Let us strengthen our efforts to include young people in policies, programmes and decision-making processes that benefit their futures and ours.

Society’s dependence on fossil fuels is jeopardising social and economic progress.

Since problems spill across borders, security anywhere depends on sustainable development everywhere.

As the young leaders of tomorrow, you have the passion and energy and commitment to make a difference. What I’d like to really urge you do is to have a global vision. Go beyond your country; go beyond your national boundaries

The power of the leader is given to him by the people, so he has a duty to engage and listen more attentively and carefully to the aspirations of the people.

Climate change has happened because of human behaviour, therefore it’s only natural it should be us, human beings, to address this issue. It may not be too late if we take decisive actions today.

Planet Earth is our shared island, let us join forces to protect it

On this International Day, let us promise to make peace not just a priority, but a passion. Let us pledge to do more, wherever we are in whatever way we can, to make every day a day of peace.

I am not a national leader. If I am a national leader I can speak out all that I want.

Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth… these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.

We must follow the wisdom of the Brundtland Report. We must pursue development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

On this International Day for the Abolition of Slavery let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us redouble our efforts to build societies in which slavery truly is a term for the history books.

Extreme weather events continue to grow more frequent and intense in rich and poor countries alike, not only devastating lives, but also infrastructure, institutions, and budgets – an unholy brew which can create dangerous security vacuums.

The clear and present danger of climate change means we cannot burn our way to prosperity. We already rely too heavily on fossil fuels. We need to find a new, sustainable path to the future we want. We need a clean industrial revolution.

I tend to support and get behind issues instead of candidates, because of the whole ‘Super Bowl’ generalization of our world – You’re on this side, I’m on that side; you’re a Republican, I’m a Democrat; you’re country music, I’m rock music.

We look at problems happening halfway across the world and we think, ‘Well, that’s their problem.’ But it’s not. … When you solve somebody else’s problem, you’re solving a problem for yourself because our world today is so interconnected.

Giving is what fuels us. Giving is our future.

The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.

Our problem is that everybody tries to heal each of the individual aspects of poverty, not poverty itself.

We can’t always see people’s pain; they can always feel our love.

. . .by lifting our hands we symbolically receive everything God is doing in our lives.

In fact, corporations are the infants of our society – they know very little except how to grow (though they’re very good at that), and they howl when you set limits. Socializing them is the work of politics. It’s about time we took it up again.