YouSaid · the spoken record

Gaston Alphonso Browne

lines on the record
10
first
2021-02-23
most recent
2021-02-23
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1
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un-security-council

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  1. “In addition, we would like to see the development of a climate-security risk assessment tool — with the input of all States Members of the United Nations — that is both preventive and reactive to climatic events.Finally, for the past 30 years, small island and low-lying States have been sounding the alarm, sending an SOS distress signal. We are losing our territories, populations and resources, and our very existence is at stake — all due to climate change. The world is also facing this threat — not of weapons, but of climate change, an invisible enemy that we all agree is real. Sadly, SIDS continue to be on the front line for this war. We appeal to the Council to take this threat very seriously before it is too late.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  2. “But on this matter, I ask: “If not us, who, and if not now, when?” On that note, I commend the United Kingdom presidency of the Security Council for the month of February for having organized this high-level open debate on climate-related risks to international peace and security. It is of the utmost importance that we continue addressing this problem. Climate change demands inclusive governance solutions that involve adjusting old norms and incorporating new ideas. As climate change continues to threaten peace and security, SIDS are asking for an all-hands-on-deck approach. We therefore encourage the Security Council to continue to host high-level open debates on climate security that are inclusive of States Members of the United Nations, scientists, academia and civil society.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  3. “It is therefore incumbent upon us to provide equitable solutions in line with countries’ international obligations and rights in order to systematically address difficult issues such as climate-change displacement, including the treatment of climate refugees and internally displaced persons and the loss of territory. Having a truly international plan and system for addressing climate change-related disrupters to international peace and security will allow for its continued maintenance. By acknowledging that we live in an interconnected global economy, this organized and coordinated approach will benefit all parties concerned by providing some level of certainty on the required global response. I am very aware that these are difficult topics.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  4. “It is of paramount importance that all State parties reaffirm their unequivocal commitment to upholding the Paris Agreement and to take bold and decisive action in order to enhance their climate ambitions to achieve carbon neutrality. In the light of the coronavirus disease pandemic and the resulting exposure to a whole range of compounding risks that can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and challenges, including climate change, we wish to stress that environmental accountability and the safeguarding of our natural heritage is crucial to humankind and the survival of our planet. Nevertheless, there are scientific limits to what we, as SIDS, can adapt. As an international community, we must simultaneously plan and operationalize a system to address inevitable loss and damage, which uproot SIDS’ peace and security.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  5. “On the contrary, we understand and continue to engage in adaptation actions — to the greatest extent possible with the limited resources at our disposal — as a means of preparing for the negative impacts of climate change. The pursuit of climate resilience is of the utmost importance to us. There is a considerable need for support from developed countries through grant and concessional financing, capacity-building and technology transfer in order to achieve such resilience. Furthermore, on preventive action, we cannot ignore the crucial necessity for all State parties to submit and, more importantly, implement ambitious, equitable and evidence-based nationally determined contributions, in line with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  6. “SIDS have observed a glaring gap in the international community’s pursuit for the widest possible cooperation by all countries for an effective and appropriate response. As a particularly vulnerable constituency that contributed the least to climate change, we take this opportunity to remind States that we all have common but differentiated responsibilities to address climate change, its adverse effects and associated loss and damage. Continuing our work without an equitable, coordinated S/2021/198 and sufficient global response leaves SIDS with gross uncertainties about our population’s lives and livelihoods. That is not to say that SIDS do not see the value in preventive action.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  7. “In hindsight, I shudder to think what would have happened to the entire population of my country and what international plan and system my country would have recourse to following such an attack on our peace and security. All SIDS continue to live through constant assaults from climate change that undermine our peace and security, including our economic security; energy, water and food security; national security; territorial integrity and State sovereignty; and our people’s right to self-determination. As a result, my fellow SIDS leaders and I are forced to govern in extremely challenging circumstances caused by climate change and other factors. Compounding those challenges is the international response to the root causes of the threats against our peace and security, which is fragmented and, quite frankly, inadequate.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  8. “The peace and security of SIDS is precarious and is extremely vulnerable to destruction on multiple fronts — sometimes at a moment’s notice, be it from sea level rise devouring our primarily coastal and low-lying communities and territories, more severe and frequent droughts and ocean acidification undermining our water supply and food security; or even more severe and frequent tropical cyclones, rendering our States uninhabitable. The latter scenario is not hypothetical for my country. Our experience evacuating the citizens and residents of our sister island, Barbuda, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, was nothing short of devastating. Had the hurricane shifted its course ever so slightly, it would have decimated Antigua as well, resulting in carnage similar to the aftermath of war.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  9. “Over that time span, we have pressed for ambitious action through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, its Kyoto Protocol and its Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which remain today the primary international forums for determining the global response to climate change. As Chair of AOSIS, I want to highlight the often-overlooked threats faced by our small island developing States (SIDS), specifically in the light of our fragility and, more particularly, our vulnerability.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source

  10. “I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Make no mistake — the existential threat climate change poses to our survival is not a future consideration, but a current reality. Climate change and its adverse effects are threats to peace and security across the globe. The ever-increasing frequency and severity of tropical cyclones, droughts, sea level rise and desertification all account for the displacement of populations and are drivers for national and international conflicts worldwide. For the past 30 years, AOSIS has been the single most consistent advocate on climate.”

    2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source