NEW YORK, CMC – Bahamas Prime Minister Phillip Davis says it’s time to transfer previous enterprise as typical and urged the worldwide neighborhood to rethink their present place relating to local weather change, noting that for too lengthy, the worldwide response has been outlined by inertia.
Addressing the Local weather Week NYC 2024 right here, Prime Minister Davis stated that because the chief of a nation on the frontlines of local weather change, he has watched the tides rise annually, felt the storms develop extra strong and witnessed firsthand the relentless advance of a warming world.
“However nothing may have ready me for the information that shook us all: For the primary time, international warming has exceeded 1.5°C throughout a whole yr. Not for a day or per week, however for a whole yr.”
Avis stated that the 1.5°C actuality dismantles the notion that incremental change will likely be sufficient, including that the previous playbooks and acquainted arguments now not maintain sway in a world the place this threshold has been crossed.
“For too lengthy, the worldwide response has been outlined by inertia, by a harmful insistence on clinging to “enterprise as typical.” However just lately, we’ve got seen some progress, prompted by the voices of individuals like my residents going through this disaster day by day and the activism of involved residents worldwide.
“A wave of change is sweeping the globe. Increasingly nations are recognizing the urgency of the disaster and setting formidable targets to cut back emissions and transition to a cleaner, extra sustainable future.”
He stated that the current passing of the Inflation Discount Act was probably the most vital piece of local weather laws in US historical past and that multilateral growth banks, acknowledging the crucial function of finance in driving this transformation, have tripled their local weather investments over the previous decade.
“This momentum is plain, a testomony to the rising international consensus that local weather motion is not only enlightened self-interest, however an financial and strategic necessity,” Prime Minister Davis stated, including, “International leaders have a alternative; take heed to their individuals or face being changed by others who will.”
He stated he’s enthusiastic about all of the developments and progress he has seen, particularly advances in renewable power know-how, carbon seize, know-how sharing, the event of drought- and climate-resilient crops, the usage of synthetic intelligence (AI) in local weather forecasting and danger assessments, and clear transportation options.
Prime Minister Davis stated he understands that tackling local weather change presents a novel problem, including, “It requires us to make choices at the moment that won’t yield instant advantages.
“This may be troublesome for leaders who are sometimes judged by instant outcomes, quarterly earnings, and election cycles. However that is exactly why we, as international leaders, must reframe the narrative.
“We have to exhibit that local weather motion isn’t about sacrifice. It’s about alternative. It’s about creating new industries, jobs, and pathways towards prosperity and safety. It’s creating an advanced world the place sustainability and financial development go hand in hand.
“We should acknowledge that our present efforts usually are not sufficient. The truth is that local weather crises don’t stay inside a rustic’s borders. What occurs in a single nation impacts us all, notably these in Small Island Growing States like mine.”
Prime Minister Davis stated, “We’d like a worldwide response that matches the size of the disaster, one which acknowledges our interconnectedness and embraces a shared duty for constructing on shared sustainability.
“It have to be a global effort that transcends nationwide pursuits and embraces the facility of collective motion. This isn’t the time for despair, however a possibility to indicate up higher for ourselves and each other.”
Davis stated the second has arrived the place local weather motion can and can drive innovation, financial development, and a extra simply and equitable world for all.
He stated this September marks 5 years since Hurricane Dorian, a class 5 hurricane, landed within the Bahamas. Along with the devastating lack of life and property Dorian introduced the nationwide debt elevated considerably because of the nation’s continued cycle of borrowing to rebuild and get better.
“What we’d like now could be a radical shift in our pondering, a structural reset of our priorities, and the braveness to pursue daring, transformative motion at a scale by no means seen earlier than. The time for complacency is over. This should finish now!
“The 1.5°C threshold isn’t a line within the sand however a siren. It’s a clarion name for a worldwide awakening, a collective rejection of complacency, and a brand new period of local weather motion outlined by innovation, accelerated change, and a agency dedication to justice.
“For the leaders of the world, notably within the nations which have contributed probably the most to this disaster, it’s time to restructure the incentives for change,” Prime Minister Davis stated, including one highly effective instrument on this effort is local weather litigation.
“By holding fossil gasoline firms accountable for the precise prices of their actions – the externalities they’ve lengthy imposed on our planet and our communities, we are able to shift the financial calculus of power markets with out burdening taxpayers with new taxes.
“This strategy advances local weather justice and creates a extra degree taking part in subject for clear power options to compete and thrive. Allow us to make local weather motion a prerequisite for safety partnerships. Nations searching for to take part in and profit from safety cooperation should exhibit tangible commitments to creating resilience. Commerce agreements have to be tied to emissions targets.”
Prime Minister Davis urged the viewers to think about a world the place their youngsters inherit, not a planet in peril however one brimming with risk.
“Image cities designed with nature in thoughts, powered by clear power, and the place the search for concord between human progress and planetary well being drives innovation. Think about a worldwide financial system constructed on the rules of stewardship, the place the worth of our pure sources is paramount and the place the pursuit of revenue is aligned with the preservation of our shared residence. That is the course correction that historical past calls for of us.
“As a result of right here’s the reality: this problem calls for that we come collectively and act with conviction. It’s an opportunity to redefine our relationship with the pure world and forge economies that aren’t simply worthwhile but additionally sustainable and simply. We will embrace a brand new path, one the place we harness our collective ingenuity – it doesn’t need to be a distant aspiration. Nonetheless, the very basis upon which we engineer a brighter future,” Davis stated.
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