We Must Address Suffering Caused by El Niño, Adapt to New Climate Reality, Deputy Secretary-General Tells Ministerial Event
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s remarks to the high-level ministerial event on responding to the impacts of El Niño and mitigating recurring climate risks, in New York today:
I am glad to join you for this high-level ministerial event on responding to the impacts of El Niño and mitigating recurring climate risks.
I bring warm greetings from the Secretary-General. In particular I convey thanks to his Special Envoys on El Niño and Climate, Mary Robinson and Macharia Kamau, for their strong engagement and unfailing commitment.
El Niño has had a devastating impact on more than 60 million people in Eastern and Southern Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Malnutrition and sickness rates have gone up; livelihoods have been destroyed; and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes and farms.
Food insecurity is expected to rise into next year. The painful economic, social and human legacy could last for generations. Communities and families have sold assets and lost their livestock and crops. Infants risk becoming stunted. Children are dropping out of school.
El Niño has already reversed development gains. Unless we act, it could threaten the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Those affected most will, as always, be those who are already vulnerable: women and children, people with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS and the rural poor. They must be the focus of our emergency response — and of our approach to future climate threats.
El Niño must not be viewed in isolation. It must be seen against the backdrop of our changing climate, which is creating more frequent and severe weather events. This development demands different ways of doing things, both in reducing and reversing the effects of climate change, and in how we prepare for, and respond to, climate-related threats.
All the evidence tells us that early action provides exponential returns in terms of human dignity, safety and well-being, as well as economic and social development. Early action can mitigate risks, reduce damage and save lives.
Several countries affected by El Niño responded by investing in climate resilience and early action. In some cases, they avoided any need for external humanitarian assistance.
Early action depends on flexible funding. In many cases, countries have turned to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). CERF has allocated $117 million to 19 countries in response to droughts, flooding and cyclones. I encourage all Member States to support this unique and indispensable Fund.
We must all significantly increase the support we give to building resilience and to recovery. This will require responsible leadership.
I urge Heads of State and Government to demonstrate their vision for the 2030 Agenda by creating integrated national resilience and response plans which give priority to human security. It will also require adequate resources.
So far, we have raised just $1.9 billion of the estimated $5 billion needed by Governments, aid agencies and partners in order to address urgent El Niño-linked humanitarian needs.
Without the remaining resources, people’s lives will continue to unravel. I call on all countries to contribute to help address these needs. We are all interconnected — we have seen too often the impact that suffering in one part of the world can have on other regions.
Contributions to this fund will ultimately benefit all of us — not just those in immediate, and often desperate, need. So, let us get to work now, to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. We must address the immediate suffering caused by El Niño; adapt to the new climate reality; and deliver on our commitment in the Sustainable Development Goals, to leave no one behind.
I thank you for your efforts so far. And I call on all countries to continue the important work to tackle these challenges today, for a better future tomorrow.