Colleague Heads of States and Government and other delegations, I am delighted, on the 20th anniversary of the formation of the Alliance of Small Island Developing States, (AOSIS), to welcome you to this historic AOSIS Summit on Climate Change.
I also welcome our friends from UN agencies, donor Governments as well as climate change, energy and environmental supporters.
As Chairman of AOSIS, I wish to thank all of you for coming to discuss our positions as we finalize global climate change negotiations to be concluded at Copenhagen.
For AOSIS, the climate change issue is about our right to survival.
The environmental conditions under which citizens of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) must live, work , watch their children learn and play, are at great risk as our collective home, planet earth, gets hotter and hotter.
This Summit of AOSIS Heads is intended to unite us, to deepen our resolve, and to demonstrate that our survival is the fundamental issue at stake. The Alliance of Small Island States is prepared to fight for this as because it involves our sustainability
I strongly urge that today, we focus on achieving our major objective of achieving a mutually beneficial consensus that will address our survival challenge.
We owe this to our future generation. We should not miss this timely opportunity
I ask that you consider in our discussions today, three critical objectives that have emerged that need to be addressed in Copenhagen. These proposals are included in the negotiating text that is now on the table:
1. Firstly, we must ensure that the Copenhagen outcome is one that will deliver the emissions reductions that are needed to ensure the survival of SIDS.
2. Secondly, we must ensure an Agreement that recognises the special vulnerabilities of SIDS. The Copenhagen Outcome must provide adequate financial resources, technology and human capacity to respond to the openness of our economies and our high physical vulnerability to extreme events.
3. Thirdly, we must ensure an Agreement that speaks to the Avoidance of Unfair Burdens on SIDS (and other vulnerable developing countries)
This is to ensure that the agreed commitments to address climate change do not transfer to small island developing states, obligations that will hinder their economic development.
Fellow Heads of State and Governments, I implore you to earnestly evaluate the information presented for your consideration.
Importantly, as a group we must resolutely demonstrate our unified commitment and consensus on our agreed declaration.
It is imperative that we convey the urgency of our common endeavour to all within the United Nations family.
We must convey a sense of the gravity of the situation when we call for an Agreement that is legally-binding.
We must make profoundly known, our call for an Agreement that keeps the institutional framework of the Kyoto Protocol, including a compliance mechanism within the Long term Cooperation Agreement track.
The international community has always found ways to come to agreement on how we resolve our conflicts, economic depression and human misery.
Now is the time for action.
SIDS survival is time-bound. Any Agreement beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius would seriously threaten our survival.
There is no more time left for inaction as our survival depends on 1.5 to Stay Alive!
Finally and importantly, I want on your behalf to express our profound appreciation and thanks to the government of France for their financial and logistical support of this event.
Once again I extend a warm welcome to you and look forward to a successful hosting of this summit.
I thank you.
