Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,
ladies and gentlemen,

Last year, I became Patron of UN Environment Programme, a role I accepted with honour as I believe in the vital importance of UNEP’s mandate. But, also, because of my deep affection and respect for nature. 

Research has shown that spending time in nature can lead to benefits in both our physical and mental health – the natural world can nurture and heal us. 

Since childhood, nature has been a place where I feel grounded and calm, and where my mind slows and reflection becomes easier. 

I grew up in a landscape very different from the one I now call home.

Tasmania, Australia, where I was born, is characterised by rugged mountains, dense temperate rainforests and dramatic coastlines. It is also home to a unique wildlife, flora and fauna. 

I was privileged to grow up with bush on one side and the coast on the other. The bush is dry, rugged and at times unforgiving and it reflects a nature adapted to harsh conditions, offering a sense of untamed beauty. 

In Denmark, the landscape is flat, the coastlines long and the lush and vibrant forests change dramatically with the seasons. In spring, the land awakens with a greenness that feels so exotic to me. Here, the forest is beautiful, serene and welcoming and it reflects a nature adapted to milder conditions.

Despite the differences, I feel deeply connected to both. Each landscape has shaped me and has given me a deep appreciation for the diversity and intelligence of the natural world.  

So, for so many reasons, I am delighted to be here in Nairobi for the United Nations Environment Assembly – the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment. But an institution is nothing without people. Decision-makers from every corner of the globe carry a profound duty. Each and every one of us carry a shared responsibility for the change that is needed.

I have had the privilege of travelling to many different countries, and I have witnessed the impact of climate change. I have seen areas where nature and land have disappeared. I have seen the consequences of pollution and waste. And I have seen and heard what it means for families and livelihoods.

I have watched – like all of you – with dismay as extreme weather, rising temperatures, intensifying droughts, and frequent floods and storms have affected health, food security and displacement across the world.

And I have met many of those whose lives have been disrupted – often it is the youngest, the oldest and the most vulnerable who are hit the hardest. 

Every encounter, every story has reinforced a core need; that yes, we must reduce our negative impact on nature today. But at the same time, we must also adapt to the realities of climate change and loss of biodiversity. 

The natural world is the foundation of our existence and prosperity.

Our food systems, the water that sustains us, the raw materials that drive our industries, and even the medicines that protect us – all depend on healthy ecosystems. More than half of global GDP relies, moderately or heavily, on nature. 

None of us can live without the natural world, yet we are pushing it to its limits.

• Almost three-quarters of the Earth’s land surface has been reshaped by human activity.
• One million species stand on the brink of extinction.
• Climate change is a major driver of nature loss and current trajectories point towards a temperature rise of 2.3 to 2.5 degrees by the end of this century.

And then, there are the financial realities.

• Developing nations urgently need increased climate finance. By 2035, adaptation needs alone are projected to be twelve times higher than current funding levels.
• Nature loss and pollution are already raising food prices, intensifying water shortages, and threatening lives and livelihoods.

We are depleting nature as though it were an infinite resource, forgetting that we are an integral part of the natural world.

Yesterday, I visited Mida Creek – one of Kenya’s most ecologically diverse coastal areas, where land and sea meet. Its extensive mangrove forests and seagrass meadows provide vital habitats for fish and form the backbone of coastal communities and livelihoods. 

Through the work of WWF, supported by Denmark, I saw how scientific monitoring and local knowledge come together to restore and protect these ecosystems.

This work is more than conservation – it reduces climate risks, captures CO2, and strengthens the resilience of local communities. Mida Creek stands as a compelling example of how nature-based sustainable solutions can deliver benefits for people, climate, and biodiversity.

Nature is profoundly intelligent and when we live in harmony and balance with nature, it is abundant and resilient. 

I was struck by this intelligence when I visited the Cerrado in Brazil – the world’s largest and most biodiverse savannah.

The Cerrado is home to five per cent of all plant and animal species on Earth. Each has adapted to survive extreme conditions, including prolonged droughts and frequent fires.

Beneath its surface lies what has been called an “inverted forest”: deep, complex root systems that store rainwater underground. This unique soil structure acts as a vast, naturally engineered irrigation system – feeding many of Brazil’s major rivers and sustaining ecosystems from the Amazon in the north to the Pampas in the south. 

How smart is that? 

The forces of nature may challenge us, but its intelligence may ultimately save us – if we learn to live and work with it rather than against it. 

It is up to us. And by “us”, I mean all of us. 

No single sector, population, business or country can succeed alone. 

A whole-of-society transformation is essential – one that honours Indigenous and local knowledge, embraces social and cultural change, and recognises the private sector as a crucial partner. 

Making sustainability good business is a powerful driver of progress – and, encouragingly, more companies and financial institutions now recognise that sustainability and sound economics go hand in hand. 

We can solve this challenge, but time is of the essence. That is why this moment matters so profoundly. 

I began my speech by sharing how nature has been a place of calm for me since childhood. Not that climate change was not already happening – I was simply not aware of it. 

Actually, there was one thing: I can recall the thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica in the early 1980s, which I imagined as a real hole directly above Tasmania.

Today, it is a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when the world acts together. 

Thanks to UNEP’s leadership and international agreements such as the Montreal Protocol of 1987, use of harmful CFSs was drastically reduced – and the ozone layer is now showing clear signs of recovery. 

For the younger generation, it is another story: they have never known anything else. They were born into a climate and biodiversity crisis. They are living it. And for many, the loss of nature, homes and even lives have been their reality. 

This moved me deeply when I met a group of young impressive delegates from very different countries at COP30. 

Let me share briefly with you a fragment of one of their stories told by a teenage girl from Pakistan.

“My name is Emaan Danish Khan. I am 14 years old, and I come from the beautiful valley of Swat, the place my family has called home for generations. When I was younger, I always heard stories about a peaceful Swat with green mountains and clear rivers. But growing up, I saw something very different. I saw how climate change was hurting my home. I watched the rivers rise. I saw fields washed away.

And in Kalam, I saw the only school collapse in the 2022 floods. That moment broke my heart, and it changed my life. I realized that children like me needed to understand what was happening to our planet so we could protect our future.”

The effects of climate change often strike with great injustice. Emaan and the other youth delegates not only live in parts of the world that are least responsible for the climate crisis – they were not even born when it began. And yet, in a powerful way, they manage to take on the task of advocating for – and striving towards – a better future.

Looking ahead, our task is clear.

1. We must slow climate change. And the climate crisis cannot be effectively addressed without safeguarding and restoring nature and biodiversity.

2. We must strengthen adaptation, build resilience, and reduce pollution and waste.

3. And we must learn from nature – and how we can live as one with it.

Excellencies, the challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are becoming increasingly severe. However, these challenges are not beyond our reach. By acting effectively, swiftly and collaboratively, governments, the private sector, research and educational institutions and communities from all over the world can build a safer, more equitable and resilient world for all.

Let us build a world where children do not grow up fearing the forces and loss of nature but instead are given – like me – the chance to feel the nurturing embrace of it.

Thank you.

(Det talte ord gælder)