The Federated States of Micronesia President says islands in the Pacific will be the first to disappear unless countries get behind the implentation of climate change agreements.
Peter Christian made the statement while addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He said the existential threat of climate change is becoming more real with every hurricane, wildfire, heat wave, and centimetre of sea-level rise.
Mr Christian said the reality is that islands like the FSM, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu will be among the first to, literally, disappear.
President of the Federated States of Micronesia, Peter Christian. Photo: AFP
He urged members who had not yet ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which commits signatories to a phase down of damaging hydroflurocarbons, to do so, calling it a 'planet-saving strategy'.
"Our current trajectory, many more islands will be lost, many homes destroyed, many people displaced.
But we can still avoid the worst climate impacts if we recognize the need for speed, and take fast action," Peter Christian said.
