I’d like to say that we’re not even a quarter of a century into the new millennium, but life today looks very different compared to life 20 years ago. We have technologies that our parents never dreamt of having. With this phone alone, we can access 100,000 films, 12,000 books and millions of photos. We can access medical appointments, restaurant bookings and anything else we can think of. That’s just in terms of the non-material world, but in terms of the material world, the 21st century is the most privileged in history. We have a huge capacity to produce and develop things, including toys, accessories and electronic devices. We have the famous Alexa. Any device we can envision, and even those we can’t, is being produced by someone, somewhere in the world. But it’s not all good news for everyone living in the 21st century. All this luxury and all this comfort come at a price, and someone has to pay it. Our rivers have never been so polluted. Our air quality has never been so poor. Our storms have never been so devastating. Our summers have never been so hot, nor our winters so cold. Our cities are being either submerged or flooded. And here’s a chilling fact: in the last 40 years, more than 748 species have disappeared. And we won’t even go into the cost to human life of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost to us of the 21st century is incalculable. But just as we’ve reaped the benefits of the 21st century, we’ll also have to pay the consequences. And the greatest injustice in this saga is that we won’t all pay the same. Those with the least will pay more so that those with the most can enjoy it. In our 21st century, whoever contaminates the least will feel the effects of the damage the most. And now I’m going to take the liberty of sharing a little story to illustrate this for you. On 25 April 1990, two baby girls took their first breaths. They both had brown eyes and beautiful hair of the same colour. If you were to see them together, you wouldn’t see much difference. However, their lives would be polar opposites. Sofía would be born into a very well-off family. At the slightest opportunity, she’d receive a present, only to discard it soon afterwards in favour of a newer or more colourful present. She grew up in a culture of consumption and waste, because the same happened when she didn’t like something. It didn’t matter; it was thrown away and she’d get something new. During the scorching summers, she and her family would travel to cooler climes, and during the freezing winters, they’d travel to warmer ones. She was very well-fed because there was always someone around to make her food for her before she got home. Ana, on the other hand, was born into a family that already had financial problems before she came into the world. She didn’t get a present every birthday, and when she did, it was clothing handed down from her big sisters or a toy they didn’t want anymore. At home, they couldn’t afford the luxury of wasting anything at all, so she would eat everything that was put on her plate. Of course, Sofía was driven around in a car every day; she didn’t breathe in the smog produced by cars, but it was the opposite for Ana. Ana had to use public transport or walk to get to school. She ate what food she could, whether it was frozen or processed. What was the outcome? Ana would go on to develop asthma, which was only diagnosed when she was an adult, but Sofía would be perfectly healthy. A few years ago, they both realised it was important to protect the planet, and they became very passionate about it. Sofía would buy a hybrid car. She wouldn’t buy products that weren’t labelled as sustainable. She would buy metal drinking straws and a bamboo toothbrush. As for Ana, she would shower in less than five minutes, separate the rubbish and try to make compost. They both did everything they could and what they thought was enough to contaminate less. And although they somewhat managed to reduce their carbon footprint, the truth is they didn’t manage to make much of a difference. From their perspectives, they both felt they’d done all they could. Although Sofía bought products that were supposedly sustainable, she never took the time to find out if they really were. As I just said, she had been raised in a culture of consumption and waste, where you need to buy things to fit in. But fitting in comes at a cost. And I’m not just talking about the money that’s been spent. Fitting in costs the planet, and it costs the people who work hard to manufacture the products we consume and the clothes we use. Throughout the course of my life, I’ve had the chance to meet lots of Anas and lots of Sofías. People who have done the best they can according to their personal situation. People who have had no say in their personal situation or how they’ve grown up, who didn’t choose what they were born into. Who, despite not choosing how they were born, have decided who they want to be, every day. Who, at this point in their lives, have decided to swap wasting for reusing. And I think taking charge of what you can do within your current situation is real progress. And, very quickly, here’s why I’m highlighting the contrast between different situations: it’s because, lately, that contrast has become more marked. We’ve been told to deplore poverty and to deplore privilege, too. And what’s happened? They’ve condemned us to live in a completely divided society, and the only thing they’ve brought about is making us work in isolation rather than all together as a team. Coming together as a team is the only way we’ll achieve significant change that could really make a difference. And speaking of Ana and Sofía, it’s very important to highlight that they both realised how critical it is to look after our natural resources, because if we don’t, these same resources could be to our detriment by ending up in a condition that is unable to sustain life. But neither Ana nor Sofía figured out that environmental impact is inseparable from the political, economic, cultural and social reality. The environmental challenge has to be addressed as a whole. For starters, environmental impact is inseparable from the economy. If our economic models continue depending entirely on consumption and constant production, then we’ll be constantly choosing between a healthy economy and a healthy planet. Secondly, environmental impact is inseparable from education. If everyone’s education depends entirely on the income of our parents or of the country in which we live, and the environment is not a core subject in the national curriculum, then we shouldn’t be surprised when people aren’t sufficiently educated to make informed environmental decisions. Thirdly, environmental impact is inseparable from politics. If our democracies do not use the environment as the basis for all public policy - regarding the environment as the foundation for everything - it will be overlooked, to be used only in speeches and not put into practice. And another very important thing: environmental impact is inseparable from the law. If our legislation is not clear and convincing - to encourage businesses, to encourage society, to have clear rules in place, to be environmentally responsible - then anyone who might want to will not be able to do so - however good their intentions are - due to unclear or ambiguous laws. Next point: environmental impact is inseparable from economic inequality, social inequality and, of course, discrimination. I brought this chart to illustrate this aspect, which I personally find truly shocking. The world’s top 10% of income earners are responsible for between 25% and 43% of environmental impact, while the bottom 10% of income earners only exert around 3% to 5%. And, finally, environmental impact can’t be addressed without us women, without a gender perspective. Historically, we women have been made to think that we need more - more qualifications, more facets, more personal care - to measure up to a man. If everyone carries on thinking this, then we shouldn’t be surprised when we go on to generate more waste and cause more pollution. The bottom line: environmental impact can’t be solved on its own. We need to link all the aspects I covered before so that it can be addressed in a comprehensive manner. It’s very important to reflect on the giant that’s devouring us. And what is this giant? Consumerism, starting with an industry that’s grown by 400% in recent years. I’m talking about fast fashion. We’ve let ourselves be carried away by want over need. We’ve been ruled by trends, we’ve been ruled by fashion, without knowing that the fast fashion industry causes the most pollution and, above all, uses the most water. It’s time to start reusing clothing, to get as much wear as possible out of our garments and not buy them just for an event or a selfie. And if, in any case, they’re not going to be worn again one day, donate them. I think it’s time to wake up our creativity and put fashion to bed. And I’d like to tell you that before I came here, I took time to reflect. Because, obviously, the cause I care about and support is the environment. And I think we’ve failed to communicate this cause effectively. We’re so overwhelmed by the whats, I think what we really need are the hows. So how do we start? How do we start; I think the best way to get going is to start by being mindful. But what is being mindful? Being mindful means stopping, stopping to think. We can’t be mindful in the moment if we keep behaving mindlessly. It means asking ourselves if we really need what we’re going to buy. And once we’ve bought it - if we do indeed need it - it means making sure that what we’re buying or consuming doesn’t end up in the bin tomorrow. As I said, if it’s a garment, wear it as much as you can or, if not, donate it after a while. If you have packaging at home, whether for milk, juice or soft drinks, separate the PET bottle and the caps, for example, and take them to a collection centre to make sure we put them back into the cycle. Extend the life of things. And in terms of our daily habits, when we’re taking a shower, we can wave our magic mindfulness wand, which is our mobile phone, using the timer to make sure we shower in under five minutes. We’re talking about 20 litres, or 35 pints, of water in five minutes, and I assure you we could all shower in one minute. I think this is the best way to move forward, by starting to change these little habits. And to begin winding up, I want to say something very important: I think we need to start talking to ourselves from a place of forgiveness. We need to understand that if we didn’t know before what we know now, it doesn’t matter. At this point, it’s important we discover which measures will truly make a difference and are a step in the right direction, so that we can all have a better planet. We need to understand and talk to those of us who are consumers, as well as to the people who promote sales. And besides sales professionals such as marketers, we also need to talk to social media influencers, who now enjoy a powerful platform with vast communities of followers. And I just want to quickly talk about a Mexican influencer who has 36.2 million followers and designed her own collection for fast-fashion online retailer Shein. Firstly, I worry about what this says to her followers. Subconsciously, it’s saying: “Buy lots, it doesn’t matter, it’s cheap.” Secondly, that cheap thing you bought is only cheap because there are millions of people being exploited in sweatshops, working a 12- to 18-hour day for which they’re being paid 60 Mexican pesos, or 3.30 euros. This works out at around 68 centavos, or 3.5 cents, per garment. We can’t allow this to carry on. And it’s not about playing a blame game. It’s about learning, changing and starting to work together to build something different. It’s about understanding that the environment is the only cause that binds us all together, simply because we all live on this planet called Earth. We all need the resources that come from here,
and, above all, we all have the power to change and to forge a brighter future. Thank you very much. (Applause)
