Speaking in St. Vincent, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said ahead of the CELAC summit that small island developing states are on the front lines of the fight against climate change.
Guterres said they are the ones that suffer more from the impacts of climate change, and they have not contributed to climate change.
“Even not having contributed to climate change, they are also on the frontlines of adopting the measures of mitigation to reduce emissions that are, of course, very limited from the beginning.”
“It is absolutely essential that there be a much bigger ambition in relation to the reduction of emissions, and it is essentially the responsibility of the G20 countries that represent 80% of the emissions.”
Guterres said there is a need for much more climate justice, which means much more finance available at reasonable costs for adaptation and mitigation for developing countries, and in particular for small island developing states.
“So this is the moment to recognise that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean that have been victims of an unfair. international financial system, and that many of them in particular, are victims of runaway climate change.”
“If the right to claim for the reforms that are necessary in order to create the conditions for their governments to be able to act, providing their peoples with the response to the needs that need to be addressed, because it is absolutely unacceptable, that is, for lack of investment in education or in health, or an infrastructure that is paid the price of an unfair international financial system,” Guterres said.
