STATEMENT BY
MR. JAMES T. STOVALL, III
DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
AGENDA ITEM 80: PROTECTION OF GLOBAL CLIMATE FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF MANKIND
47th UN General Assembly
2nd Committee
New York, 6 November 1992
Check Against Delivery
Mr. Chairman,
These remarks will be very brief, but in brevity I do not
wish to indicate any diminishment of concern or feeling of complacency
on the part of the Federated States of Micronesia toward the
subject of climate change and sea level rise. These concerns
are deeply held.
We are grateful for the Secretary-General's report and for
the excellent introductions given on Wednesday. We agree fully
with the calls by many speakers for immediate implementation
of the Climate Change Convention and on the whole with the structural
and procedural recommendations in that regard already voiced.
Thus, we will not here repeat them, but would add that the mechanisms
of the Convention must be established with due regard for the
difficulties that small delegations from developing countries
encounter attempting to participate in enterprises of this magnitude,
especially when meetings are held far away from our capitals
or established missions. That factor simply cannot be swept aside
in the case of this Convention, because if it is to succeed with
its purpose, small developing countries must participate closely
and regularly in the work.
Because of the compassion and open-mindedness already shown
by the leadership and indeed all delegates to the Intergovernmental
Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change,
it is not necessary for me again to describe the exposed situation
of low-lying small island states such as the Federated States
of Micronesia in respect of rising sea levels and destructive
weather patterns. We need therefore only to refer with gratitude
to the dedicated efforts of so many that resulted in the inclusion
within this crucial Convention a number of provisions specifically
aimed at the concerns we and other small island states had expressed.
Here, naturally, we must give special thanks to the eminent Chairman
of the I.N.C., Mr. Jean Ripert, to Mr. Michael Zammit-Cutajar
and the entire Secretariat of I.N.C., to the members of the Bureau,
and not least, to the I.P.C.C.
I am happy to report that the processes of the Federated States
of Micronesia for ratification of the Framework Convention oil
Climate Change are very near completion. We do call upon all
signatories to make this a priority of their government, so that
full implementation of the Convention can proceed as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, some may still not take very
seriously the threat of sea level rise, because the phenomenon
does occur very gradually and at rates that are variable under
differing conditions. It is fail to say here, though, that as
science learns more about this phenomenon, the problem seems
increasingly more immediate than had been supposed. As an example,
a recent study of Antarctic fossil strata by New Zealand scientists
at the Victoria University of Wellington was just published in
the British journal, Nature, suggesting that disastrous meltdowns
of polar icecaps could begin to occur within more narrow ranges
of temperature change than has been supposed. Should this come
to pass, sea levels certainly would rise faster and to a greater
extent than any study had suggested at the time of the Rio Conference.
Thus, Mr. Chairman, though we realize that scientists will continue
to debate the accuracy of various scenarios, we fear even more
strongly with each passing month that time is not on the side
of small island states, or of the World. The Precautionary Principle
must guide the parties to the Climate Change Convention in pursuing
its objective.
We all know that tire Framework Convention itself represents
only a start in dealing with the various threats of human-induced
climate change. Many, including the Federated States of Micronesia,
had hoped the Convention would start out with more teeth. But
regardless, the Convention still can become an effective instrument
depending on the manner and speed of its implementation, and
if the actions of the parties in years to come give life to the
principles and generalities of the Framework. The delegation
of the Federated States of Micronesia supports the Convention
and all pending proposals designed to sustain the momentum of
its process. We intend to participate in its work to the limit
of our resources and ability.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, the Federated States of Micronesia
welcomes and fully supports the call for an I.N.C. devoted to
combating desertification and drought. It became obvious in the
climate change negotiations that these monumental problems, already
being experienced, could not be adequately addressed in that
forum. Thus, we call for an early decision to constitute a new
I.N.C. for this purpose, hoping also that the natural linkages
between all climate-related efforts will produce the natural
cooperation that should occur. We pray that the I.N.C. on desertification
and drought can be supported with a proper sense of the priority
that such grave, ongoing human suffering deserves.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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