Friday 18 December 2009

Palau@COP 15: Protect the weakest and most vulnerable among us

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am truly thankful for this opportunity to address the leaders of the Planet Earth.  I stand here by virtue of my status as a Head of State, but I address you as a Son of the Pacific Islands.

Mr. President,
Palau’s legend teaches us that we spring from Mother Nature. And historically, we have shared a symbiotic relationship. But, as a result of abuse which mankind has committed against her, the capacity of Mother Nature for tolerance has been pushed to the breaking point. We now feel her wrath as she is rising to devour us.  She has gone from being our benefactor to our adversary in the form of climate change.  Now, we are engaged in an epic battle against climate change to save our planet and humanity.  Defeat is not an option.

Mr. President,
We are the ones who started this conflict with Nature, and we must bring an end to this conflict. To end this conflict, we need to work together to harness all our resources, creativity, and determination.  We need to move beyond distinctions of class, race, creed, ethnicity, national boundaries, and color – and together we must relearn to live in harmony with Nature.  The existential nature of our work requires that all inhabitants of our planet must work together, and in this context, we advocate on the inclusion of Taiwan in these discussions.

Mr. President,
Climate change is evidence of Mother Nature’s desperation to be heard. I believe, if we listen carefully, we can hear in her voice the call for reconciliation; for, like a loving mother, she wants to bring us back to the right path. I’m afraid that if we don’t heed her call, we may be doomed to eternal condemnation.

Mr. President,
Let us respond to Mother Nature’s call by taking drastic action to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.  This includes moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy.  In this conflict, green energy is the antidote to the toxic effects of climate change.  I believe that Mother Nature is urging us to go green to save our planet and ourselves.

Mr. President,
We know the challenges facing mankind.  We need and must have a positive outcome from this historic meeting. I endorse the AOSIS position on climate change. It is a position that deserves to be adopted by this Conference. It will guarantee victory in this epic battle against climate change.  It will prove cost effective in the long run. To delay drastic action today will result in an exponentially greater cost, a cost which may prove prohibitively high.  The AOSIS position is the clear path to victory.


Mr. President,
Our first priority must be to protect the weakest and most vulnerable among us. And they include the low lying islands of Oceania, who are on the front line in the onslaught of climate change. The protection of the weakest and most vulnerable is a test of our humanity, courage and commitment to win our battle against climate change. To do this, we must all work together. To successfully protect the weakest and the most vulnerable necessarily assures us of the security of all. And, here I would like to ask our partners and our friends, and especially the industrialized nations, to come on board and to lead the battle against climate change. Fairness requires that more should be demanded from those nations which historically have contributed the most to climate change.

Mr. President,
I am an optimist and I believe that the human creativity and ingenuity which led to the industrial revolution should be refocused on the process to contain, and reverse the adverse effects of climate change. I believe that what men can do, men can undo.

Let us take prompt and remedial action by adopting a binding agreement here which will specify a strategy to effectively and immediately combat the adverse effects of climate change.  The future of mankind is in the balance. Time is of the essence and sometimes, defeat is just another word for too late.

This historic conference in Copenhagen should not be and must not be an exercise in futility.  Let us leave behind from this meeting a legacy of hope for the survival of our planet earth and the future generations of mankind.


Thank you.

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