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The fourth assessment report of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) clearly warned us of the adverse consequences of climate change and global warming, if left unchecked.
That was two years ago.
Unfortunately, today’s statistics are much more serious and grim. Human-induced climate change is accelerating much faster and far beyond the IPCC’s predictions.
The science is clear. Climate change is real. It knows no borders and has now become by far the most serious threat facing human security.
While there is no longer a front line in the fight against climate change, for those countries like the Maldives and other small island developing States, with an average elevation of one metre above sea level, as well as for low-lying coastal areas across the globe, the situation may be much more precarious today than ever before.
Thus, time is no longer a luxury that these countries can afford; nor can they afford to pick and choose where and when this important issue should be discussed.
Climate change-related conflicts are slowly beginning to emerge as water and other scarce resources are depleted, coastlines begin to recede, storms and floods become more frequent, and droughts are prolonged. As my delegation stated in the general debate of this Assembly in September, for the Maldives climate change "is not solely a development issue, but also a moral, ethical, political, legal and human rights issue, as well as a grave security issue" (A/63/PV.16, p. 40).
It was against that backdrop that the Maldives took the initiative in 1987 to raise this issue before the Assembly.
It was also the reason why the Maldives participated at a high level in the Security Council debate on this issue in 2007.
It was the reason why the Maldives decided to raise this issue in the Human Rights Council last year, and it was also the reason why the Maldives unconditionally joined our brothers and sisters from the Pacific small island developing States (SIDS) in submitting the important resolution before us today.
Unlike two decades ago when we first raised the issue of the real threat of some of the low-lying SIDS, including the Maldives, disappearing from the face of the Earth due to global warming and sea-level rise, climate change is a better understood and documented phenomenon today.
We have certainly taken our time in reaching scientific and political consensus on the nature and threat of climate change. It is true that two decades of global action have not yielded the results that we expected. Yet we refuse to give up hope. We believe that a true partnership with a common and shared vision of commitment and multilateral solidarity can still guarantee our future.
Indeed, we have the means and the resources; what is lacking is political will.
As the Secretary-General has been stressing, we will have to seal the deal in Copenhagen. If we do not, it may be too late for some of us.
Before I conclude, let me take this opportunity to express my delegation’s sincere appreciation to the Pacific SIDS for taking this important initiative. We commend them for this brave and courageous undertaking. The consensus adoption of resolution 63/281, sponsored by nearly 90 countries, signals the importance that the international community attaches to climate change and its possible security implications.
We are fully convinced that the resolution will become an important milestone in the annals of the Assembly.