New York City, NY, September 30, 2019 – USA – Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis urged the nations of the world to treat the global climate emergency as the greatest challenge facing humanity in his address to the 74th United Nations General Assembly.
The Prime
Minister’s plea joins the cries and voices of many other world leaders and
global citizens and comes almost one month after the Category 5 Hurricane
Dorian devastated parts of Abaco and Grand Bahama.
Prime Minister
Minnis said that if climate change is not treated with the greatest urgency it
will continue to ravage small island states such as The Bahamas and will also
have a devastating impact on more developed states.
“The Bahamas fully
supports the [UN] Secretary General’s comprehensive strategy to address a
global emergency which will eventually devastate the entire planet,” said Prime
Minister Minnis.
Secretary General
Antonio Guterres’ strategy also includes a plea to international financial
institutions to provide concessionary financing to countries severely impacted
by the external shocks occasioned by climate change.
Prime Minister
Minnis would like The Bahamas to be included in the UN Development Program that
is already working with three Caribbean countries – St. Lucia, Dominica, and
Antigua and Barbuda – on various measures.
For many years,
The Bahamas and countries with similar characteristics have urged an
alternative to per capita Gross National Income as the sole indicator of a
country’s level of development and eligibility for concessionary financing.
“When we call for
consideration of a country’s unique local circumstances when determining
financial worthiness, this is also a condition and requirement for our
resilience,” said Prime Minister Minnis.
“The Bahamas is a
testament to the ability of SIDS to manage debt despite such external
setbacks.”
Prime Minister
Minnis said that in the context of the global climate emergency, he was not
only speaking on behalf of the Bahamian people but it was also his
responsibility as a citizen of a vulnerable state to speak on behalf of the
community of Small Island Developing States; the peoples of the Caribbean and
CARICOM; and on behalf of coastal communities and others around the world who
are especially vulnerable from rising sea levels and from increasingly powerful
storms.
“The small island
countries in the Caribbean, in the Atlantic, in the Pacific, and in the Indian
Ocean and around the world, are on the frontlines of being swallowed into an
abyss, created initially by human activity and increasingly by inaction,” said
the Prime Minister.
“Our
vulnerabilities as states on the frontline are profound.”
The Prime Minister
took the opportunity to invite potential travellers throughout the world to
visit one or more of the 14 other major islands in The Bahamas not affected by
Hurricane Dorian, including Nassau.
“The revenue from
tourists visiting The Bahamas will play a vital role in reconstructing and
rebuilding the affected areas,” said Prime Minister Minnis.
The surpassing
beauty of The Bahamas and the country’s many low-lying islands and over 2,400
cays are under grave threat, said the Prime Minister.
“It is a threat which we did not cause,” said Prime Minister Minnis. “It is a threat which we cannot survive on our own.”
Release: Office of the Prime Minister
Commonwealth of The Bahamas
BIS