General Assembly Session 62 meeting 82

The Acting President

Since we still have 74 speakers on the list and must finish today, I beg speakers to respect the five-minute rule.

I now give the floor to Ms. Rina M. Tareo, representative of the Marshall Islands.

Ms. Tareo (Marshall Islands)

The Republic of the Marshall Islands wishes to fully align itself with the statement made by Tonga, on behalf of the small island developing States of the Pacific Islands Forum, and Grenada, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States.

Many of the world's low-lying small island nations -- the nations most vulnerable to climate impacts -- have spent decades trying to bring the urgency of climate change to the attention of States Members of the United Nations. With its average elevation at only three metres above sea level, the Marshall Islands truly values the personal leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon regarding this issue and the commitment of General Assembly President Kerim to finally giving climate change the attention it so richly deserves within the United Nations system.

However, we must not fool ourselves into thinking that climate change can be addressed only by generalized discussion. Instead, the global community needs the help of a more effective and coherent United Nations system to turn broad hopes for climate change into action-oriented results. Too often, paperwork, studies and well-meaning United Nations agency intentions have failed to translate into real benefits.

The United Nations system must recognize that adaptation is an inherently limited long-term solution for certain low-lying Member States, such as the Marshall Islands. While there are important mid-term adaptation strategies, such as the Micronesia Challenge, which aims to conserve our vulnerable coastal resources by 2020, rising sea levels will likely present questions which are without legal precedent in the global community.

With fragile coastal ecosystems as the basis of our food security and traditional land tenure as the foundation of our cultural identity, my country must ask the global community some difficult questions regarding threats to our development, security and fundamental freedom. What becomes of our national boundaries and cultural traditions, our legal identity and our homeland? In what ways might major emitters bear responsibility under international law?

The global community cannot continue to avoid these questions. In working to support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, the United Nations system can also facilitate productive diplomatic discussion on issues of human rights and national sovereignty central to the Charter of the United Nations.

My country suggests that an important role for the United Nations system rests in assisting Member States with domestic implementation of the UNFCCC and other climate change goals. The need for assistance has never been more urgent. Major greenhouse gas emitters are struggling to integrate climate strategies with economic development goals. Domestic climate change initiatives are time-consuming to develop, are rarely linked with urban or industrial growth programmes at the national or local level, and rarely allow for public involvement.

With extreme urgency, the Marshall Islands calls attention to the August 2007 plenary statement of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization which called upon the global community to examine the potential interlinkage between climate goals and existing national or local environmental laws, in particular the environmental impact assessments -- a legal norm unilaterally adopted by over 100 Member States. We urge the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to carefully study the ability of environmental impact assessment laws to address climate change and, as appropriate, work closely with national experts to build this capacity.

Our relationships on climate change with key partners have already allowed my country to take great strides in further reducing our own small amount of greenhouse gas emissions, even though we are not an annex I country. However, decision makers who have the greatest opportunity to make an impact on implementing climate change goals and populations who are at greatest risk are too often excluded from meaningful interaction within the United Nations system.

Innovative cross-sectoral partnerships open up direct lines of communication between populations most affected by climate impacts and the decision makers who are able to reduce those impacts. A useful example is the 2007 Statement of Shared Action between the Marshall Islands and King County, including the City of Seattle in the State of Washington. We encourage the United Nations system to take a more direct role in playing matchmaker and encouraging these direct relationships between key decision makers and highly vulnerable populations.

Oceans and coastal areas are critical for the survival of many small island developing States. We call upon the United Nations system to address the potential for the conservation of coral reefs to be considered as an eligible carbon sink under the Clean Development Mechanism. In addition, we call upon the United Nations system to examine the link between climate change impacts, including coral reef bleaching and ocean acidification, and the food security gained from commercial and subsistence fisheries, and to alert decision makers of its findings.

The Marshall Islands is strongly concerned that the new global climate change funding mechanisms under discussion with the World Bank may compete with existing and newly established funding channels for adaptation. It is important that the recipient nations also be afforded an opportunity to participate in governance of these funds and that the United Nations system ensure that climate change adaptation funding continues to be addressed with transparency.

The narrow window for global action is rapidly closing. My nation urges both the United Nations system and Member States to meet this extraordinary challenge by turning rhetoric into results.

The Acting President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Daniele D. Bodini, Permanent Representative of San Marino.

Mr. Bodini (San Marino)

I would like to thank President Kerim for organizing this important event. We strongly believe that climate change is a critical issue on the agenda of the General Assembly, and we greatly appreciate his effort to keep our attention focused on it. I would also like to commend the Secretary-General for, to quote his own words, having "moved climate change up to the top of the agenda" and for his inclusive report entitled "Overview of United Nations activities in relation to climate change" (A/62/644). We were impressed by the attendance of a great number of world leaders at the High-level Event on Climate Change last September. This broad participation reflects the determination and, more important, the moral commitment of all Member States to resolve in an equitable manner such an enormous challenge.

The Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provided us with further evidence of climate change and its causes. It presented a practical basis for adaptation and mitigation strategies. The Bali Action Plan represents a promising road map to guarantee a coordinated and comprehensive multilateral action to address this emergency situation. We are looking forward to the December 2009 conclusive meeting to be held in Copenhagen.

Climate change is affecting all countries without distinction -- whether small or large, developing or developed -- but we can all agree that developing countries are facing a greater emergency and need increased financial support and strengthened capacity-building. We concur with General Assembly President Kerim's statement that we need to reconcile the economic aspirations of developing countries with the necessity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

We also believe that a universal strategy to address climate change is our only solution and that the entire process has to be coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations system.

Development and economic growth can and must move forward together with environmentally friendly policies. The negative consequences of climate change represent a concrete obstacle to reaching the Millennium Development Goals, a threat to international peace and a cause of humanitarian emergencies. We cannot succeed without effective strategies at all levels, balancing environmental need, energy consumption and economic growth.

Technological progress in new and renewable sources of energy is a key element of the entire process and should be one of the main objectives of our efforts. Partnerships between Governments with fiscal and/or direct incentives and the private sector can significantly contribute to focusing on investments in effective alternative technologies and ensure universal access to know-how and expertise.

San Marino is finalizing new legislation promoting energy efficiency with the use of new and renewable sources of energy and introducing water, sanitation and water waste management programmes to reduce water consumption. This regulation will include new criteria and incentives to promote alternative clean technologies.

We are confident that we can significantly modify the energy and environmental patterns of the entire country and reduce San Marino's CO2 emissions as well as its dependency on energy imports.

Finally, we want to underline the importance of environmental education and respect for natural resources as the basis of our social policies. In fact, as has been pointed out several times, to succeed we have to raise the awareness of private citizens, business communities and Governments.

While there is no guarantee that we will be able to slow down global warming, it is clear that all of us have to remain committed to curb this catastrophic outcome. Reversing this trend would be the greatest legacy for our future generations.

The Acting President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Nirupam Sen, Permanent Representative of India.

Mr. Sen (India)

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