Their appeals, exacerbated by the increase in seas, failed crops and disappearance ecosystems, echoed the warning of Secretary General António Guterres in a climate summit that the world is already in the “dawn of a new energy era”, one where clean energy must replace fossil fuels, and where finance and justice remain in the heart of the heart.
“The final result: Clean is competitive and the climate action is essential,” he said, asking for “dramatic emissions” aligned with the objective of 1.5 ° C of the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, agreed by all nations in 2015.
“We know that it can be done … Cop30 in Brazil must conclude with a credible global response plan to put ourselves on the road,” he added, referring to the 30 UN climate change conference in November, whose objective is to accelerate global efforts to limit the increase in temperature and advance emissions, adaptation and climatic finances.
The urgency of the UN Chief provided the backdrop when world leaders presented convincing stories of climate danger and promise on the second day of the annual general debate of the Assembly.
Spain – Accelerate energy transition
King Felipe VI of Spain addresses the general debate of the eighth session of the General Assembly.
The “triple planetary crisis” (climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity, appeared prominently in the direction of King Felipe VI of Spain, who stressed that governments must accelerate a fair energy transition.
He pressed for tripling renewable capacity, double efficiency and advance in decarbonization in time for COP30, where Spain expects to see consensus and ambition.
“These objectives are as ambitious as necessary,” he said, warning that doubt can no longer be part of the global equation.
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Panama – Nature, the first line of defense
President José Raúl Mulino Quintero de Panama addresses the general debate of the eighth session of the General Assembly.
For Panama, which has long defended conservation despite contributing little to global emissions, the call was by integrated action.
President José Raúl Mulino Quintero announced the ‘nature of nature’ of the country, a single framework, unite commitments on climate, biodiversity and land.
He stressed that, as a negative carbon country, Panama will go further by restoring 100,000 hectares of priority ecosystems, from mangroves to basins.
“Nature is our first line of defense against climate change,” he said, linking national resilience with global solidarity.
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Comoros – Little Island, Large stakes
President Azali Asnoumani de Comoros addresses the general debate of the eighth session of the General Assembly.
In the Indian Ocean, Comoros faces a different first line.
President Azali Asnoumani spoke of the growing seas, the coastal erosion and intensification of the cyclones that threaten the villages and ecosystems of the archipelago.
He urged equitable and simplified access to climatic finances, insisting that small islands cannot wait in cumbersome mechanisms while their homes are washed.
At the same time, he highlighted the emerging Comoros Plan of his country, “based on renewable potential, the resources of the Blue Economy and the digital transition.
But without international support, he warned, such plans run the risk of being hindered by the global debt and inaction.
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Namibia: linking climate action with desertification
President Nanditwah President Nanditwah de Namibia addresses the general debate of the eighth session of the General Assembly.
The president of Namibia, Netumbo Nanditwah, linked the climate directly impacts on the daily struggles of his country, citing prolonged droughts and floods that have dried rivers and interrupted lives.
She announced Namibia’s offer to organize the Regional Center of Africa of the Green Climate Fund, positioning the country as a bridge for climatic finances in the continent.
And she reinforced the need to implement the ‘Namib Declaration’ to combat land degradation, linking climate action with the fight against desertification.
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Guyana – Tangible value of nature
President Mohamed Irfaan Ali de Guyana addresses the general debate of the eighth session of the General Assembly.
In South America, the president of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, emphasized that the weather and development cannot be separated.
He described how his country is protecting forests, strengthening maritime defenses and advancing a low carbon development strategy to demonstrate that economic growth can go hand in hand with environmental administration.
Guyana, he said, has become a carbon credits seller under international standards, demonstrating that “nature has tangible value.”
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Marshall Islands: Promises will not save the sinking atolls
President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands addresses the general debate of the eighth session of the General Assembly.
For the Marshall Islands, a Pacific nation of more than 1,200 islands and 29 coral atolls, climate change is a matter of survival.
President Hilda Heine delivered one of the most urgent interventions of the day, warning that promises alone cannot save the sunken atolls.
“We have heard the promises, but the promises do not claim land in Atolls. They do not develop mangrove defenses, they underpin our hospitals and schools against the increase of the seas or preserve the cultural stability related to the land that is being slid under the waves,” he said.
“Those things require money.”
Mrs. Heine pressed the international community to close the climate finance gap of billion dollars, particularly for adaptation, loss and damage.
As Cop30 approaches, he said that nations should not only honor their promises, but also deliver stronger plans that show a clear route to eliminate the elimination of fossil fuels and reduce global emissions in this half in this decade.
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