Together with all the nations of the world, we are confronted by the most devastating changes in global climate in human history. The extreme weather conditions associated with the warming of the atmosphere threaten our economy, they threaten the lives and the livelihoods of our people and, unless we act now, will threaten our own very existence. We have heard the voices of the young people who marched to the Union Buildings last week urging us to take action to protect our planet. It was to address these fundamental challenges that we adopted the National Development Plan, the NDP, in 2012 to guide our national effort to defeat poverty, unemployment and inequality. Many of the parties represented here endorsed and embraced the NDP. However, with 10 years to go before we reach the year 2030, we have not made nearly enough progress in meeting the NDP targets. Unless we take extraordinary measures, we will not realise Vision 2030. This means that we need to prioritise.