The climate crisis is the biggest threat to humanity and should not be distracted by the war in Ukraine, according to leaders of small island countries threatened with extinction as a result of rising sea levels.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said on Tuesday that “there is no other priority” than the climate crisis.
This is not what transpired at the WGS (World Government Summit), a conference of world leaders held in Dubai, where Browne spoke.
The war in Ukraine dominated much of the conference’s panels. Much has been said about the political and economic relations between Arab countries and Russia in the face of the conflict.
The panel that brought together leaders from small islands, however, was trying to swim against the current and leave the war outside the room.
Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan said the order of forces between countries cannot just be about wars. The climate crisis is also part of the new world order, according to Ramkalawan.
The panel was like a cry of despair from small island states in the face of rising global temperatures, which threaten the existence of several of these territories.
The attempt to leave the war out of the room, however, was only partially successful. Every now and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was invoked by some of the debaters.
For the president of the Seychelles, the conflict unfolding in Europe shows that the main reason for the timid confrontation of the climate crisis on the part of developed countries is not financial. According to him, there is money, but it is being used for other purposes. “We are seeing our islands disappear,” Ramkalawan said.
Meanwhile, in plenary sessions and key WGS panels, panelists did not seem to agree that the climate crisis is the most important issue in the world. Governments and businessmen were more interested in discussing how the war in Ukraine is affecting their relations and business.
The journalist traveled at the invitation of WAM (Emirates News Agency).
