UN General Assembly
2017

This year’s session is taking place against a backdrop of the adverse effects of climate change, which have spared no one nation, developed or underdeveloped. Our efforts to raise the standard of living for the world’s poor people in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals are being frustrated by the effects of climate change. We have witnessed the devastating effects of climate change on our environment. Recently, there have been many hurricanes in the Caribbean. I remember a time when forests were within a child’s walking distance, in particular in Africa, and were teeming with a profusion of flora and fauna. That is no longer the case. Unfortunately, a myriad of species of flora and fauna have become extinct in a very short time. We have also continued to witness disasters such as droughts, wildfires, flooding and landslides; if not extreme levels of rain, it is the lack of it.