President Burton urges action on climate change, says 'it is a wake-up call'

Dominica: As the 2024/2025 National Budget address is being presented in parliament today, the President of Dominica, Sylvanie Burton, has addressed the serious issue of climate change and called upon the developed states to take responsibility for their actions.

She said that the world is filled with various crisis but the one which is considered the greatest threat to humanity is climate change.

President Buton noted that the changing of the climate continues to pose a threat to the global community, especially to countries and territories like the small island developing states – SIDS, known for their extensive marine and coastal zones, limited access to finance, and high vulnerability to natural disasters.

She continued to say that climate change is wreaking havoc on the planet and the world is witnessing and experiencing first hand disastrous impacts of polluted air droughts intense wildfires warming sees and rising sea levels coastal erosion extreme heat food insecurity extreme weather events that are increasing in frequency and severity etcetera.

Not only this, but the President also emphasized that all these changes in the environment are being primarily driven by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels that generate greenhouse gas emissions and much more.

While talking about this issue, she mentioned the formation of the earliest and quickest category 4 hurricane in recorded history – Hurricane Beryl.

The Prime Minister said that this hurricane left a trail of destruction in the sister islands of Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and its sister islands Carriacou and Petite Martinique as well as Jamaica. 

“It is hoped that this was a wake-up call to the developed world, which causes the high emission of fuels. It is rather unfortunate that small states like ours that are low-emitting countries are the ones on the front lines of the climate crisis. it is totally unfair that SIDS and their populations are the ones suffering the consequences of the actions of the developed world,” outlined President Sylvanie Burton. 

She said that this situation is calling for urgent collective global action and the developing countries need to recognise and accept responsibility for their destructive practices and do the novel thing.