Mr. President, Ministers,

Distinguished members of the media.

Good evening.

I am very pleased to visit Suriname for the first time.

And this is a visit of friendship and solidarity.

And I thank President [Chandrikapersad] Santokhi and the people of Suriname for your warm welcome. 

Suriname is one of the greenest, if not the greenest, country on the planet. 

It is one of the few carbon negative countries. 

And it is a leader in biodiversity protection. 

But unfortunately, Suriname stands out because it is such an exception.

Around the world, we are seeing the failure of climate leadership.

And the proliferation of disastrous climate disruption.

Our world is still moving in the wrong direction.

The science is clear.

To meet the goal of limiting temperature rise by 1.5 degrees, global emissions must decline by 45 per cent by 2030.

Yet, the current national climate pledges around the world result in an increase in emissions of 14 per cent by 2030.

This is suicide.

With every passing hour of climate dithering, the pulse of the 1.5-degree goal gets weaker and weaker.

And big emitters have a particular responsibility.

Let’s not forget that G20 countries represent 80 per cent of global emissions.

On the other hand, Caribbean nations are on the front lines of the climate crisis and have consistently shown steadfast leadership.

I saw that leadership in action during my visit to the rainforest today. 

About 93 per cent of Suriname is covered by rainforest.

You are committed to keeping it that way.

Rainforests are a precious gift to humanity.

And that is why from here in Suriname, I want to send a message to the world. 

We must honour and preserve the gift of rainforests.

Because this is not a gift that will keep on giving.

If we keep seeing the scale of destruction across the world’s rainforests, we are not just biting the hand that feeds us – we are tearing it to shreds.

The equation is simple: 

If we protect the rainforests, they protect us.

If we destroy the rainforests, we destroy ourselves.

What I have seen here in Suriname gives me hope and inspiration.

But what we are seeing around the world is cause for deep shock and anger.

Rampant deforestation and worsening climate impacts are increasing forest fires and drought.

This is outrageous and shameful.  It is global suicide in slow motion.

Destruction in rainforest systems around the world must be a global wake-up call to save the lungs of our planet. 

And Suriname must be an example that all others follow.

Today, I met indigenous peoples’ representatives who are showing the way.

Indigenous peoples have not contributed to climate change, yet they are among the most affected worldwide.

At the same time, they have solutions that the world can learn so much from.

They are proud guardians of some of the planet’s indispensable biological diversity, and they need support to do so.

I also saw first-hand how Suriname is working to monitor and preserve essential mangrove ecosystems, which are threatened by sea-level rise and coastal erosion.

Nature-based solutions – such as preserving and developing mangroves, rainforests and other essential ecosystems – are vital.

The world needs more such initiatives.

Across all these fronts, it is critical that nations, especially the wealthiest, work together to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and to build resilience to the climate shocks to come.

That means finally making good on the longstanding pledge to provide developing countries with $100 billion dollars a year for climate action.

Finding equitable solutions to the debt crisis that is crushing many countries in the region.

Increasing and facilitating access to concessional funding for Small Island Developing States – and other middle-income countries, in particular, for adaptation.

And indeed, what I see in Suriname is that this country is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

And the world has the obligation to massively invest in support of Suriname’s programme of adaptation, as Suriname is providing the world with the gift of rainforests that allows it to be a carbon negative country.

And we seriously need to address loss and damage.

And supercharge a renewable energy revolution.

As I saw today, we have the tools and the know-how.

Our world needs the political will and solidarity to make the difference that is needed.

Suriname and the Caribbean region are leading the path forward.

We must follow that lead – for people, for prosperity and for the planet.

Thank you.

Question: I have one question for Mr. Guterres. You just mentioned the role Suriname plays in keeping its forest intact, and for many years, as the President has stated, that the small island states and small states are calling on the international community for accessible and concessional financing, why has this call not led yet to tangible solutions? And since you have seen what is happening in Suriname now, what are the mechanisms that you as the UN Secretary-General have to be a turning point in the development that the small States would have access to this kind of financing that you just mentioned?

Secretary-General: We have been strongly advocating for the reform of the global financial system. Our global financial system was defined after the Second World War by the rich countries of the time. Many were not yet independent. Suriname was not at the table. Most African countries were not at the table. So the system was designed by the rich to the rich.

And so, we have a number of inconsistencies in the system. First, middle-income countries are denied concessional funding, but middle-income countries can be very vulnerable to external shocks: debt shocks, climate shocks, shocks in the global markets of food and energy. And the fact that they have middle income doesn't solve the problem because the new become low-income countries, if they are not supported in those shocks. Look at several of the neighbours that were affected by COVID, tourist-based island States, all of a sudden, lost all tourists. So, they are middle-income countries, but income was not coming, and many situations like these are happening around the world.

One of the very strong positions we have in relation to the IMF [International Monetary Fund], and I think that for the first time in the New Resilience Fund, this is recognized. We need to have concessional funding for middle-income countries facing external shocks, because that is absolutely essential to preserve their status and to protect their population, especially the most vulnerable.

And another thing that many people do not know: the largest number of poor people in the world are not in the poorest countries – they are in the middle-income countries. Which is another reason why it is important to support those countries. We have been insisting since the food and energy and finance crisis that was amplified by the Ukrainian war. We have been insisting on the need for the IMF to mobilize all the emergency funding, the need for and the penalties when countries borrow above the quota. And now there are penalties and they should be abolished. The need for the World Bank and the other international financial institutions to provide much more concessional funding, especially in relation to climate adaptation. And this is something that, of course, is extremely important to Suriname, and that we need the framework that was defined by the G20 in relation to debt relief, including the middle-income countries to work.

Now I have to say that the Government of Suriname has developed a huge initiative in order to obtain a solution for the moment, Club de Paris, in its debt problem, but you still have to deal now with the private creditors. The framework that was designed by the G20 simply doesn’t work. Only three countries were candidates and none have received anything. So we need an effective framework for debt relief of middle-income countries, and this is something that we go on strongly advocating for.

So we need to transform a global financial system, that doesn't work for developing countries and middle-income countries, into a global financial system whose main objective is to contribute to reduce inequalities in the world.

Question: World leaders have acknowledged that there are significant financial needs for climate adaptation and mitigation. Mr. Secretary-General, what is your position on Guyana and Suriname using their new-found oil wealth to fund those needs?

Secretary-General: Well, it is my belief that, today, the reserves of oil and gas that exist will never be entirely consumed. So obviously, I'm not a supporter, an enthusiastic supporter, of oil and gas projects. But I have been Prime Minister of my country, and I can imagine the Prime Minister of Suriname looking into the resources of his country. And I think we need to understand that it is difficult to look into Saudi Arabia, or the Emirates, and to think that their oil is different from yours. Having said so, I would recommend maximum restraint and maximum care in the way to handle that problem.