Remarks by the President of the General Assembly

H.E. Dennis Francis

At the High-Level Panel: Enabling People Positive Adaptation Journeys, at COP28

Dubai, UAE

2 December 2023

 

 

Heads of State and Government,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Participants,

 

I should like to thank my co-host, the Director General of IOM, with whom – in collaboration with the Global Centre for Climate Mobility – we are delighted to welcome you to this important event.

 

While we are all here, at COP28, hoping for ground-breaking commitments to create a surge of renewable energy and reign in emissions on the other, – to reaffirm the all-important goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees – the reality is that even in this scenario, we still face a warmer, more volatile, more unpredictable planet.

 

Climate adaptation is therefore a pressing necessity.

 

Indeed, the ability to adapt can mean the difference between life and death; between lost infrastructure and resilient social systems; between economic hardship and inclusive, sustainable growth.

 

It is a necessary investment that quite simply pays for itself – many times over.

 

And yet, as is too often the case, we are not deploying or disbursing sufficient resources where we know, and I repeat – we know – they are needed most.

 

Mitigation still absorbs the lion’s share of climate financing – which itself is still insufficient in the grand scheme of things.

 

And what money there is for adaptation rarely reaches those on the frontlines – communities bearing the severest brunt of the impacts of climate change, with limited means to respond.

 

This must change.

 

On the macro-level, we must make adaptation financing more abundant, and above all, more accessible.

 

And on the micro-level, we must work with people and communities to develop locally sourced, contextually appropriate adaptation solutions that address climate-induced problems or challenges.

 

In essence, we need to recommit to people-centered adaptation.

 

That means involving people from the very start in formulating when policies and resources – as communities should be given a chance to determine their future.

 

This includes women and girls, young people, indigenous peoples, older persons, and those who are differently abled.

 

And it means equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to survive.

We need to allow and facilitate access to the data needed, to design evidence-based solutions to advance implementation.

 

We need to enhance climate literacy – which is the understanding of how climate observations and records, as well as computer modelling, can contribute to scientific knowledge.

 

And we need to draw on traditional and indigenous knowledge, skills, and cultural heritage.

In island states and in coastal areas, for instance, it is the fisherfolk who are observers and recorders of historic action and events that have taken place in the water.

 

They bring essential insights to the conservation and management of natural resources and can contribute to meaningful change.

 

Above all, we need to support locally grown solutions with localized grants that empower people first.

All these ideas need climate financing to be executed to ensure that livelihoods, public services, and social cohesion are supported – whilst bolstering the resilience of people, especially those on the frontline in the most vulnerable communities.

 

Excellencies,

 

It is easy – in big negotiating halls such as these – to get lost in jargon, rhetoric, and acronyms.

While this facilitates diplomacy, it rarely captures the real face of humanity that is the subject at hand.

 

Let us not forget that climate change is about all those who constitute the most vulnerable – who are living on low-lying coastlines, facing sea-level rise daily.

 

It is about farmers facing drought, and communities fearing flooding.

 

It is about cities suffocating under smoke from wildfires, factory emissions and vehicle exhaust or facing extreme heat from dangerously rising global temperatures.

 

As we gather at this COP28, let us not lose sight of in whose defense we are here, who suffers most, and who must benefit right now from the resources and skills we can surely unlock.

 

Let us therefore deliver real, transformative change, for people-centered adaptation.

 

I thank you.