SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1992
TRANSCRIPT OF A SPEECH BY THE GOVERNOR,
THE RT HON CHRISTOPHER PATTEN AT THE BUSINESS LEADERS FORUM
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YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, LORD YOUNG, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
AS I SAID AT THE MAGNIFICENT DINNER WHICH THE HONGKONG BANK HOSTED LAST NIGHT, I DO VERY WARMLY WELCOME YOUR CHOICE OF HONG KONG AS A VENUE FOR THIS FORUM AND LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, I AM EXTREMELY GRATEFUL TO YOU, SIR, FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE FORUM AND TO THIS IMPORTANT CONFERENCE IN PARTICULAR.
YOU HAVE, SIR, GIVEN A COURAGEOUS INTERNATIONAL LEAD ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND WE ARE IMMENSELY PLEASED THAT YOU'VE BROUGHT THIS ALL IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO HONG KONG THIS WEEKEND. TO SOME EXTENT, I SUSPECT THAT IN THE OECD COUNTRIES AT LEAST, SOME OF THE IMPERATIVE NATURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE HAS BEEN BLUNTED BY THE RECESSION, OR THE "FLAT RECOVERY" AS IT IS SOMETIMES CALLED, THAT THOSE COUNTRIES HAVE ENDURED FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
DUT WE SHOULD NOT FORGET, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHAT THAT MESSAGE AMOUNTS TO. IT'S BASICALLY, I THINK, A REMINDER FIRST, OF THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMILITY, AND SECOND, A REMINDER OF THE POSSIBILITIES ACTION.
OF COLLECTIVE
FIRST,
LET ME EXPLAIN FOR A MOMENT WHAT I MEAN. HUMILITY: EVER SINCE THE EUROPEAN ENLIGHTENMENT, WE'VE BELIEVED THAT WHATEVER MEN AND WOMEN DID, WHATEVER THE ADVANCES IN SCIENCE, WHATEVER THE INCREASE IN TRADE OR ECONOMIC GROWTH, THE ENVIRONMENT WE LIVED IN WOULD STAY EXACTLY THE SAME. NOW WE KNOW THAT THAT IS NO LONGER TRUE.
THE WAY WE MULTIPLY, THE WAY INDUSTRY USES UP NATURAL RESOURCES, THE WAY WE POISON OUR AIR, POISON THE WATER, POISON THE LAND, THOSE THINGS LITERALLY THREATEN THE BALANCE OF NATURE.
WE CAN'T GO ON ACTING, WITH THAT ENORMOUS SELF-CONFIDENCE OF THE VICTORIANS, AS THOUGH WE WERF LORDS OF NATURE; WE HAVE TO SHOW RESPECT FOR OUR PLANET OR WE'LL TURN IT INTO AN INCREASINGLY HOSTILE HABITAT FOR ALL OF US.
SECONDLY, ALTHOUGH THE PROBLEMS WE FACE, OF CLIMATE CHANGE, OF POLLUTION, OF THE THREAT TO BIO-DIVERSITY, OF POPULATION GROWTH, ARE SO DIFFICULT, THEY ARE FAR FROM INSUPERABLE. IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS WE NEED TO ACT; WE NEED TO ACT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, AS WE'RE TRYING TO DO IN HONG KONG, TO CLEAN UP THE AIR WE BREATHE AND THE WATER THAT WE SWIM IN AND DRINK. AND I TAKE WHAT PETER SAID EARLIER, ABOUT SWIMMING ACROSS THE HARBOUR, AS A COLLECTIVE IF NOT A PERSONAL CHALLENGE. I HOPE THAT WHEN THAT'S DONE IN THE FUTURE, PETER AND I WON'T EMERGE GLOWING AND GREEN.
REGIONALLY, AS WELL, WE INCREASINGLY HAVE MORE ΤΟ DO WITH OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS. AND FOR THOSE OF US IN HONG KONG, AS I SAID LAST EVENING, WE HAVE TO WORK IN CLOSE CO-OPERATION WITH OUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES IN GUANGDONG AND IN THE SOUTH OF CHINA, SO THAT THE ASTONISHING ECONOMIC GROWTH TO WHICH THE WHOLE WORLD IS LOOKING, DOESN'T WRECK OUR ENVIRONMENT HERE. AND GLOBALLY, I'VE LONG HELD THE VIEW THAT THE ENVIRONMENT WILL PLAY AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT PART IN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY. I HAPPEN, ALSO, TO SUPPORT A ROLE FOR THE UNITED NATIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS, AND POSSIBLY AS WELL, A ROLE OF SOME KIND FOR THE SECURITY COUNCIL OF THE UNITED NATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO TAKING AND ENFORCING ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES THAT ARE URGENT TO US ALL.
/WHETHER WE