It is 'obscene' that small island states pay for fossil fuel addiction
It is “obscene” that small island States on the front lines of climate suffering should pay the “price of the greed” of fossil fuel industries and the “addiction” of major economies, António Guterres said on Monday.
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Mundo António Guterres
"Your unique geography places you at the mercy of climate chaos, rising seas and land degradation. Climate change is an existential threat to the human family as a whole, but Small Island Developing States are on the front lines,” the United Nations Secretary-General said at the opening of a summit of such States in Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean.
"We cannot accept that a country or a culture disappears, swallowed by the waves,” he stressed, as some of the 39 participating countries, such as the Maldives or Tuvalu, could literally be wiped off the map.
"The idea that an island State could become collateral damage in the pursuit of profits by the fossil fuel industry or geopolitical competition among larger economies is simply obscene,” he said.
"The United Nations stands with you to reaffirm your aspirations: to stop and reduce the terrible impacts of the climate crisis, build resilient economies, promote safe, healthy and prosperous societies, ensure water, food and energy security, conserve biodiversity, and sustainably protect and use the ocean and its resources,” he assured.
Guterres stressed that the Small Island Developing States "are a test of climate justice and financial justice" and repeated his call for a reform of the international financial institutions, which he considered "outdated, dysfunctional and unfair".
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