小島地區及高山國家的領袖2日向聯合國大會表示,對於避免氣候變遷所造成的危害,我們實際付出的行動實在太過渺小。在經過一次又一次的波折後,他們認為有需要加強管理措施,來解決全球暖化可能使低窪地區慘遭淹沒,或是全球高山地區融雪及冰川溶化的種種威脅。
印度洋沿岸國家的外交首長沙伊德(Abdulla Shahid)說,馬爾地夫為一個位於低地區的小島國家,地理環境使其深受全球氣候變遷的威脅,而近來由於海平面上升淹沒了該區大部份區域,促使我們必須正視這個問題。
他進一步提到,儘管為了對抗氣候變遷,舉行了不計其數的會議、高峰會和各種因應計畫,但說來容易做來難,執行層面困難重重,而且「過去20年中我們已經錯過太多機會。」
沙伊德強調共同合作以抑制氣候變遷的重要性,他以樂觀的態度面對將於12月在印尼巴里島舉行的氣候變遷高峰會,他認為這是一個能夠彌補浪費過去20年時間的契機。
另外,與馬爾地夫同屬小島國家的吉里巴斯共和國(Kiribati)為一個開發中國家,該國過去幾十年來不斷發出訊息表示,冰帽及冰川溶化造成海岸線上升的問題,無疑像是注定了一個國家的滅亡。
該國公共工程暨公共事業部首長基拉塔(Natanaera Kirata)向聯合國大會表示,在吉里巴斯共和國中,大部分島嶼的高度與平均海平線相比,僅勉強高出2公尺左右,而這也讓全球暖化演變成一項關乎性命安全的重要問題。
此外,他向國際社會呼籲採取一致的行動來面對氣候變遷造成的威脅,並獲取更多政治及聯合國的支持。
Too little is being done to ward off the dangers of climate change, leaders of small island and mountainous countries told the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday. One after another, they called for intensified measures to tackle global warming that threatens to inundate low-lying islands and melt the snow and ice off the world's mountains.
"The Maldives, as a low-lying small island state, is particularly vulnerable to the perils of global climate change, a point brought sharply into focus by the recent sea swells which submerged a large part of the country," said the Indian Ocean nation's Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.
Despite many conferences, summits and plans aimed at combating climate change, rhetoric exceeds implementation and "the past 20 years has been an era of missed opportunities," he said.
Underscoring the importance of "collective responsibility" in curbing climate change, Shahid expressed optimism that the upcoming major climate change summit in Bali, Indonesia, in December provides an occasion to make up for lost time.
Kiribati, [pronounced kee-ree-bas] another small island developing state, has been signaling for decades that sea level rise brought on by melting ice caps and glaciers could doom the low-lying country.
Natanaera Kirata, the country's Minister of Public Works and Utilities, told the General Assembly that most of Kiribati's islands are barely two meters above mean sea level, making global warming a crucial security concern.
He called on the international community to adopt a unified response to the challenges posed by climate change and for the issue to receive increased political support and commitment at the UN.
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