UN General Assembly
2009

particular. Despite the scientific consensus that the earth is warming at an alarming rate, progress in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and limiting global warming to below an increase of 2 degrees Celsius per year has proved elusive. Today, the poorest nations, which contribute the least to the phenomenon, are the most vulnerable. The recent torrential rainfall in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, left scores of people dead, homeless or seriously injured. Drought, hurricanes, floods, changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and low crop yields rank high among the key challenges facing the world’s poor. Unfortunately, those nations with the least resources are the most unprepared for such challenges. It is our obligation to reverse the alarming rate of environmental destruction and depletion of our natural resources. It is in this regard that I wish to reiterate Africa’s common position on climate change, which, among other things, urges developed countries to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 40 per cent. This is certainly not an ambitious goal. It is the least that we, the most vulnerable, deserve.