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\u00a0 Remarks by President General Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n H.E Dennis Francis<\/strong><\/p>\n on<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cStrengthening climate action: <\/strong><\/p>\n The role of the United Nations General Assembly in addressing sea-level rise and other climate-induced disasters\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n at<\/strong><\/p>\n Florida State University,<\/strong><\/p>\n Turnbull Conference Center, Tallahassee, Florida<\/strong><\/p>\n August 29, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (As Delivered)<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr James Clark, Provost Florida State University, <\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Jai Vartikar, First Lady, <\/strong>Florida State University, <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mr. Tim Chapin, Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy,<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Students and Faculty of Florida State University,<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am delighted to join you here today \u2013 on this renowned Florida State University (FSU) campus in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am sincerely thankful to the organizers of The Ruth K. and Shepard Broad International Lecture Series and the Engage Your World series<\/em><\/strong> for the opportunity to do just that – engage with you today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My sincere appreciation goes to Dr. Richard McCullough, President Florida State University.<\/p>\n I express my deepest gratitude to Assistant Provost McDowell, Dr. John Mayo \u2013 Director of the Engage Your World series \u2013 and FSU for the kind invitation to be here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For your information, I am pleased to count among my delegation your own distinguished alumna \u2013 Dr. Mariam Shaikh \u2013 a national of Pakistan, who has been a valued member of my team.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Without any doubt, tertiary institutions like FSU play a crucial role as society\u2019s great developers and liberators of human potential \u2013 advancing public understanding, shaping societies, and building our collective future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That future \u2013 and what we must do, together,<\/strong> to secure it \u2013 is what I intend to speak to you today about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A transformative future brimming with boundless potential \u2013 and one that is propelled by remarkable and rapidly evolving innovations and revolutions that are constantly upgrading and unleashing our human potential and redefining what is possible.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alongside the boundless potential, the reality is that it is also a future fraught with profound risks and uncertainties.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Risks, that we must fully grasp and address \u2013 immediately<\/strong> \u2013 in order to ensure humanity\u2019s continued well-being.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While there are numerous other pressing global issues \u2013 including internal conflicts, ongoing aggression against sovereign countries like Ukraine, and escalating violence worldwide in places like Haiti and Sudan \u2013 as you have asked me, today’s lecture focuses on one of the most formidable risks we face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Climate change<\/strong> \u2013 a deepening major challenge that is existential.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It brings a slew of interrelated effects \u2013 many spanning borders and all affecting successive generations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our actions today will determine not only the average global temperatures.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What we do or do not do will heavily influence weather patterns, biodiversity, the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, agricultural output and food security.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Importantly \u2013 if we do not seriously reexamine the way we live i.e. our habits and lifestyles \u2013 that will even dictate whether entire ways of life will continue to sustainably thrive and thus determine our own survival.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Living up to the promise of the Paris Agreement<\/strong> by honoring those commitments and pledges is our best hope for staving off the worst of the impacts \u2013 and, more importantly, keeping global temperature rise below the 1.5-degree pre-industrial limit.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is a goal close to my heart \u2013 quite literally \u2013 I have taken to wearing a lapel pin advocating atmospheric temperature increase of \u201c1.5 degrees\u201d, well before assuming the Presidency.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And it is a goal we must all set ourselves to urgently achieve.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dear Friends,<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sea-level rise<\/strong>, global warming, and proliferating disasters \u2013 including hurricanes and floods, caused by climate change \u2013 can no longer be spoken of as abstract looming dangers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They are present realities unfolding before our very eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 2024 alone \u2013 for the first time ever \u2013 global warming breached the 1.5-degree limit for an entire year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n July 21<\/strong> was registered as the hottest day on Earth since record keeping began in 1940[1]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then, the following day \u2013 July 22 \u2013 broke that record again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Right here in the United States, 2023 broke the record for the greatest number of deaths resulting from extreme heat \u2013 that is, 2,300 people tragically lost their lives!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And 2024 could be even worse. [2]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Extreme weather events caused by warming air and ocean temperatures, once rare, could become annual occurrences \u2013 affecting close to 1 billion<\/strong> people living in low-lying coastal areas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Floridians, you too know that climate change is not a \u201ctomorrow problem\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just recall how recently Hurricane Debby<\/strong> \u2013 which made landfall not far from here \u2013 left a path of massive destruction in its wake, from Florida to the Carolinas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was another stark reminder of how torrential rains can trigger flash flooding and storm surges.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nearly 40 percent<\/strong> of Americans live along the coasts \u2013 where sinking land only adds to the threat of sea-level rise<\/strong>.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For the populations of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other low-lying coastal zones \u2013 including my own home country in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago<\/strong> \u2013 no issue is more pressing or consequential than sea-level rise.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For small island states \u2013 like the Maldives,<\/strong> which consists of<\/strong> 99 percent water and has a maximum elevation of merely 2.4 meters above sea level<\/strong>\u2013 even a modest rise in sea levels could have catastrophic consequences, potentially making continued habitation untenable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In coastal States from Brazil to India<\/strong>, sea-level rise could abruptly force millions of people to relocate \u2013 creating new population flows and intensifying competition for already scarce resources.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The cascading effects extend beyond these immediate impacts \u2013 influencing regional stability, economic vitality, and international relations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Addressing them, therefore, requires a multipronged approach \u2013 combining urgent climate action to mitigate sea-level rise with strategic planning to manage its unavoidable consequences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Building resilient infrastructure<\/strong>, implementing effective disaster response strategies<\/strong> including early warning systems<\/strong>, and promoting sustainable economic practices<\/strong> are vital steps toward safeguarding vulnerable communities \u2013 and ensuring a viable future for affected communities and regions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n No less important is implementing effective adaptation measures \u2013 inclusive of comprehensive policies that address forced migration and displacement due to sea-level rise and associated sudden-onset and slow-onset disasters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Friends<\/em> \u2013 on a broader level \u2013 we need to maintain an unrelenting and uncompromising devotion to the truth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To succeed, we need a full-on global coordinated effort \u2013 in particular, to push back against the rampant misinformation and disinformation campaigns<\/strong> maliciously spread by those who seek to cast doubt on obvious science-based realities relevant to addressing climate change.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And we know very well that this pattern of denial is not new.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just as the tobacco industry once manipulated or outright rejected scientific evidence linking smoking to cancer<\/strong> \u2013 today we see similar tactics motivated by self-interest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n