UN General Assembly
2017

Let us acknowledge the fact that small island developing States have repeatedly warned the international community that a failure to respond adequately to climate change would betray our children and condemn future generations to certain doom. I dare say that we do not have the luxury to be silent on that front anymore. We must act now. The effect of natural disasters does not have a diplomatic solution. What is needed is tangible action. The future is now, and the challenges are profound. What is fast becoming the new normal is the intensification of extreme weather events, which demands from us real solutions in real time. No longer can we depend on the old mechanisms with their dense bureaucracies that delay or limit a nation’s ability to safeguard its citizens during a crisis and slow the rebuilding effort.