‘Time to Turn the Tide, Save Ourselves from Rising Seas,’ Says Secretary-General at High-Level Meeting
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the opening of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on addressing the existential threats posed by sea level rise, in New York today:
Our world is in dangerous waters.
Scientists tell us that the global sea level is now rising faster than at any time in the last 3,000 years and accelerating — the rate of increase has more than doubled since the 1990s.
They tell us the cause is clear: Greenhouse gases — overwhelmingly from burning fossil fuels — are heating our planet, expanding seawater and melting ice.
But they cannot tell us where this will end. That is down to world leaders today. Their choices will determine the scale, pace and impact of future sea level rise.
Temperature increases over 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels could take the world past dangerous tipping points — potentially leading to long-term, irreversible collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctica icesheets. In the worst-case scenario, people alive today could witness sea levels rise by metres.
Low-lying coastal zones are home to around 900 million people. Rising seas mean a rising tide of misery: more intense storm surges, coastal erosion, and coastal flooding; communities swamped, fresh water contaminated, crops ruined, infrastructure damaged, biodiversity destroyed, and economies decimated — with sectors such as fisheries, agriculture and tourism pummelled.
The poorest and most vulnerable are hardest hit. I saw this recently in the Pacific, where cyclones are tearing chunks out of island economies. In 2015, Vanuatu suffered damage equivalent to well over half its GDP.
Meanwhile, in Panama, hundreds of island families have been relocated to the mainland. In Bangladesh, saltwater is polluting drinking water, killing crops and creating a health threat that can be deadly, particularly for pregnant women.
In the city of Saint Louis in Senegal, homes, schools, small businesses and mosques have reportedly been abandoned to the encroaching tide.
Such events are reproduced across the globe. This is what climate injustice looks like. This is the face of inequity. But the rich are not immune. Advanced economies are spending billions — in damages and adaptation. And without rapid action we’re in for much worse.
As the title of today’s debate reminds us, for some, this could be existential: whole islands lost; coastal communities destroyed as lands become uninhabitable and uninsurable. Mass displacement can pile pressure on scarce resources elsewhere, inflaming already dire situations.
Global trade, food systems and supply chains will be battered as ports are damaged, and agricultural land and fisheries ruined. Rising seas will reshape not only coastlines, but economies, politics and security, too.
Only drastic action to reduce emissions can limit sea level rise. And only drastic action to adapt can keep people safe from rising waters.
Everyone must be protected by an alert system by 2027 — in line with our Early Warnings for All initiative.
And all countries must deliver new national climate action plans — or Nationally Determined Contributions — well ahead of COP30 next year.
These must align with 1.5 degrees, cover all sectors of the economy and put us on track to phase out fossil fuels, fast and fairly.
The G20 — responsible for around 80 per cent of global emissions — must lead and align their fossil fuel production and consumption plans with 1.5 degrees.
Money is indispensable. We need a strong finance outcome at COP29 this year — including on new and innovative sources of capital. We need significant contributions to the new Loss and Damage Fund as a step towards climate justice.
We need developed countries to double adaptation finance to at least $40 billion a year by 2025 — and to show how they will close the adaptation finance gap. And we need to reform the Multilateral Development Banks to become bigger, bolder and able to deliver far more affordable finance to developing countries.
We made real progress at the Summit of the Future. We must keep driving that forward — including at the World Summit for Social Development and the Financing for Development conference next year.
We must also address gaps in our international legal framework concerning sea level rise: to ensure continuing access to resources, while protecting existing maritime boundaries; as well as to protect affected persons and — in extreme scenarios — to address the implications related to statehood.
We cannot leave the hopes and aspirations of billions of people dead in the water. We cannot allow the wholesale destruction of countries and communities.
It’s time to turn the tide. And save ourselves from rising seas.