By: Staff Writer
September 24, 2024
Bahamas Prime Minister, Philip Davis (KC) encouraged other climate change leaders at Climate Week NYC 2024 to “move past business as usual.”
Davis, in his remarks, said: “As a leader of a nation on the frontlines of climate change, I’ve watched the tides rise higher each year, felt the storms grow stronger, witnessed firsthand the relentless advance of a warming world.
“But nothing could have prepared me for the news that shook us all: For the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5°C across an entire year. Not for a day, not for a week, but for an entire year.”
He added: “The 1.5°C reality dismantles the very notion that incremental change will be enough. The old playbooks, the familiar arguments – they no longer hold sway in a world where this threshold has been crossed.
For too long, the global response has been defined by inertia, by a dangerous insistence on clinging to “business as usual.” But recently we have seen some progress, prompted by the voices of people like my citizens who are facing this crisis daily and the activism of concerned citizens around the world.”
Saying that a “wave of change is sweeping the globe,” Davis further noted: “More and more nations are recognizing the urgency of the crisis and setting ambitious targets to reduce emissions and transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future.”
Warning on the failure to act, Davis said: “Global leaders have a choice; listen to their people or face being replaced by others who will.”
Davis also said: “We must acknowledge that our current efforts are not enough. The reality is that climate crises do not stay inside a country’s borders. What happens in one nation impacts us all, particularly those of us in Small Island Developing States like mine.
“We need a global response that matches the scale of the crisis, one that recognizes our interconnectedness and embraces a shared responsibility for building on shared sustainability.
“It must be an international effort that transcends national interests and embraces the power of collective action. This is not the time for despair, but an opportunity to show up better for ourselves and for one another.
“The moment has arrived: where climate action can and will drive innovation, economic growth, and a more just and equitable world for all.”
