President Sylvanie Burton urges Global action on Climate Change at UNGA

Dominica: President Sylvanie Burton delivered a bold address at the UN General Assembly 2024 where she highlighted her concerns over several topics focusing majorly on health and climate.

She highlighted these issues while noting how they are impacting the lives of those currently residing in the Small Island Developing States. 

ADDRESS TO EXERCISE SUSTAINABILITY FOR FUTURE

President Burton, during her address, highlighted the importance of multilateralism to combat the rising global challenges. She noted that the UN Agenda 30, though planned hasn’t produced fruitful results to which the SIDS should rely for their ultimate goal. 

President Burton also highlighted that the 2024 sustainable development goals report indicated slow and minimal progress on their planned operations.

“Alarmingly, the 2024 sustainable development goals report indicates that far from building on the progress achieved during the first five years, and I quote, fully half of the 17 targets are showing minimal or moderate progress while over 1 third appear stalled or going in reverse,” she said. 

CALL FOR A UNIFIED APPROACH AGAINST NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

She further emphasised the growing burden of non-communicable diseases on the Caribbean community. 

The President highlighted the potential threat that the diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, cancer, and respiratory diseases have across the community.

It was said that these diseases should be addressed through an aggressive approach by all the global leaders as they cause widespread damage to societies, economies, and ultimately development goals. 

“In Dominica, we have made significant progress in enhancing our health care system to better meet the needs of those at risk or living with NCDs,” President Burton highlighted how Dominica has managed to combat this rising concern.

She also highlighted that she shared Dominica’s perspective on tackling the rising issue, during the 3rd annual gathering held at UN headquarters a day earlier to the event. 

CLIMATE CHANGE IS A THREAT TO LIFE

Moving ahead with her address, the Dominican leader discussed the impacts of climate change on every aspect of life. She highlighted it as a ‘Daily Reality’ while noting that this is being said several times over the course. 

While addressing this issue she highlighted how hurricanes, storms, devastating floods, and prolonged droughts have affected the communities across the Caribbean. President Burton also recalled the damages caused in the past by these natural calamities which had a substantial effect on the GDP of the island nations. 

She reiterated that climate change requires bold and urgent actions to be taken to limit global warming which is the main cause of the developing climatic conditions. President Burton highlighted that this needs to be done with utmost urgency as the future of SIDS is dependent upon the decisions made now. 

Her speech then highlighted the efforts that Dominica is already pursuing to combat the issue of Climate resiliency. The President said that the nation has already invested in resilient infrastructure and agricultural practices to ensure a safe environment ahead. 

She addressed that the aim to achieve climate resiliency or to limit climatic disasters will remain impossible if the developed world doesn’t contribute to limiting its carbon emissions. 

“The reality is that as important as our interventions in this crucial space are, they will remain ineffective if our friends and partners in the industrialized world do not honour their commitments to reduce global warming and provide the funding that is required to enable our law emitting states to become resilient,” she said. 

President Burton as headed towards an end to her address, stated how her ancestors have contributed to mother nature. 

“My ancestors, the Kalinago people lived in harmony with mother nature, drawing on nature for food and general well-being, including medicinal plants,” she said while highlighting the benefits associated with the same. 

President Sylvanie Burton was seen as proud of her culture and motivated everyone to live a life and save the environment like her ancestors did. She ended her statement by saying Iahora Iahora (Thank You) in her mother tongue or the language of the Kalinago people.