President calls for world action on climate change
24.09.2009
President James Michel has called on world leaders to take concrete action against climate change and to make a pledge to cut real emissions of harmful greenhouse gases to safe levels.
He was addressing the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York through a video presentation on Tuesday (for full text of President Michel’s speech, see page 3).
“For small islands, climate change is about our existence. It is about maintaining our human right to live and work in the land of our birth, the land of our parents. We must act now to ensure that our islands are also the land of our children,” said Mr Michel.
“Islanders face forced displacement and destruction of our already fragile economies. Climate change threatens the very concept of human dignity.”
The summit ended on Tuesday after nearly 100 heads of state and government had met to discuss their policies and action plans for climate change mitigation.
It was taking place two months ahead of the climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where negotiations will take place on an ambitious new agreement to curb emissions of greenhouse gases.
That agreement is set to come into effect in 2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires.
In his speech, Mr Michel added: “For small islands and least developed countries, the road towards Copenhagen is about survival. The progress made so far is unacceptable. And proposed compromises are simply a means of shifting the debate to future generations.”
The President was represented at the summit by Seychelles’ permanent representative to the UN Ronny Jumeau.
The summit was not a negotiating session but a forum for world leaders to engage in direct discussions with the aim of finding a common understanding on a path forward.