UN Secretary-General tells graduates “Don’t work for climate wreckers”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres receives an honorary degree from Seton Hall University in New Jersey in the United States. UN Photo/Evan Schneider
On 24 May 2022, UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered the commencement address at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, one of the oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities in the United States, close to New York City.
He told graduates that they needed to be the generation that succeeds in meeting the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending extreme poverty and hunger, reducing inequality, and developing new tech that can “end disease and suffering.”
“You will succeed in replacing hatred and division with reason, civil discourse, and peaceful dialogue. You will succeed in building bridges of trust among people – and recognize the inherent dignity and rights we share as human beings. You will succeed in balancing the scales of power for women and girls, so they can build better futures for themselves and for us all.”
Above all, he said, the graduates who had battled through the impediments thrown up by the COVID-19 pandemic, needed to be the generation that addresses the “planetary emergency of climate change.”