“Climate change is a reality, we see it very day, we live it every day,” President James Michel has said.

He was speaking to France 24 reporter Mairead Dundas in a televised interview during his recent working visit to Paris, France.

When asked if he is fearful that Seychelles as well as the other Sids (small islands developing states) may one day disappear as a result of sea level rise brought on by climate change if the world does not act now, President Michel, one of a handful of Sids leaders pushing the United Nations to act faster on climate change, replied: “I am very fearful as well as the other Sids are fearful, because climate change is a reality. It is not only something that we are ourselves witnessing, the scientific community has given enough evidence that the climate is changing, the planet is warming and the sea level is rising. We are seeing these effects almost daily at home. We see our coasts being eroded. We see the migration of fish, we see the bleaching of our corals. All these are having adverse effects on our economy, on our people, and on our livelihood. At the same time, flat coralline islands risk being submerged by sea level rise. It is a reality, we see it every day, we live it every day. We have also been stressing that the world must do something about this.”

The world has been gathering in Lima, Peru this week for the 20th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to hopefully put together a draft agreement that will eventually be signed in Paris in December 2015.

One of a handful of Sids leaders pushing the United Nations to act faster on climate change, President Michel believes the biggest hurdle between now and December 2015 is to get the world on the same page.

“The conference of Lima is a follow-up of the UN conference of Samoa and also New York where we have made substantial progress in educating the world about the dangers of climate change.  Lima is a follow-up of these meetings. We hope that in Lima the technicians and leaders who are attending the summit will come to an agreement so that when we come to Paris in 2015 we have an agreement that can be signed and is legally binding, ensuring that we move further,” said the President.

He also explained that with small populations Sids are not prepared to deal with climate change as they do not have the expertise to prepare the necessary documents to present to conferences. 

“This is why we have appealed to international partners like France to help us with experts and this will not only serve Seychelles but also other Sids to prepare the necessary documents to prove that there is a need for Sids to be protected,” he noted.

Speaking about why he sees Sids as the conscience of humanity, President Michel said: “When we say we are the conscience of humanity, it means we as Sids are in danger of losing our countries. We are in danger of losing our existence. Because of that we have become the conscience of humanity and if countries which have the capacity don’t do more to help our planet, then the Sids will disappear well before the bigger countries are affected. If Sids disappear the whole world will be held responsible and this is why I say Sids are the conscience of humanity.”

With China and the United States of America announcing their shared commitment to fight climate change, President Michel described it as a “turning point and a step in the right direction”. 

“In Paris in 2015 we will have to work on improving what have already been agreed upon. We have to be optimistic. We need to work on what has been achieved and move forward in order to achieve the necessary results and level needed in order to ensure that the planet is safe,” he said, noting that the 10 billion US dollars pledged to the Green Climate Fund is not enough to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

“A number of countries have not lived up to the commitment they made in Copenhagen in 2009 and in September in New York some countries came forward and made further commitments. France President François Hollande was the first to make a firm commitment. There has been an improvement, but it is not enough. We hope all countries which promised to contribute in the Green Fund do so. Companies and large multinationals which are more responsible for polluting the planet should also put some of their profits in the fund to help the mitigation, adaptation of small islands states and at the same time help them to become more reliant on green and clean energy. It’s a shared responsibility, but industrialised countries which can do more need to do so for us to reach a solution to save the planet. 

“We are all responsible for climate change and it is our shared responsibility to resolve the problem. Let us not point fingers, but work together to come to a concrete solution, that is a legally binding agreement to reverse the climate change issue,” said President Michel who concluded that the earth is our only home and if we don’t save it we will have nowhere to live.

Forrás: www.nation.sc