Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica Honorable Cozier Frederick Minister of the Environment Rural Modernisation and Kalinago Upliftment High Level Segment COP 26 Your excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen ……. Dominicans are proud stewards of our pristine natural environment. We have protected Mother Earth and believe as our invincible Kalinago ancestors did that everything in nature is connected and our fate as humans is tied to the trees, the water and the air that we breathe. I am a proud descendant of the Kalinago who fought to protect our islands from the onslaught of colonization We came close to extinction but courage and resilience sustained us We have a once in an intergenerational opportunity to take some brave decisions and tackle the climate crisis head on. Dominica has made its commitment absolutely clear. 2 Following near total destruction by Hurricane Maria in 2017, our Prime Minister expressed the aspirations of his people to become the world’s first climate-resilient nation Though we have limited resources, we are throwing everything we have at achieving this. But, We are running out of time to reverse destructive environmental practices that are already having severe consequences for small island developing states That matters most, not only for you here today, but for young people growing up in our small islands, and for future generations. Developed countries need to assist SIDS to become resilient and sustainable. There is a moral obligation to do so. Climate Justice demands it. Our young people now face an unprecedented threat. They will inherit what has been referred to as “a triple jeopardy of: o crippling debt, o a degraded environment, and o frequent and destructive disasters”. SIDS have high levels of debt distress primarily linked to responding to climate impacts, and currently there is no viable long-term debt reduction strategy; 3 yet still, SIDS are receiving less than 2% of all climate finance Almost all the Aichi Biodiversity targets for the last decade were missed Hurricanes are becoming more frequent and more intense. Dominica and other small islands are seeking new opportunities. These lie in decarbonisation and renewable energy technologies, in more sustainable forms of tourism, and digitalisation of the economy. The younger generation is already onboard, they are seeking out opportunities to innovate. They are bold, less jaded by the past, but they are also driven by a desire to live on a healthy planet, to preserve the territorial and cultural integrity of their island homes in their lifetimes. Dominica has a clear plan in place to become resilient, but we cannot do this alone. The clock is ticking, and the challenge is immense, and we therefore call on our developed partner countries. Provide the support that SIDS need for our mitigation and adaptation efforts; Help us achieve 1.5 to Stay Alive. I close with this nugget of wisdom from Chief Seattle, 1854 4 “HUMANKIND HAS NOT WOVEN THE WEB OF LIFE. WE ARE BUT ONE THREAD WITHIN IT. WHATEVER WE DO TO THE WEB WE DO TO OURSELVES. ALL THINGS ARE BOUND TOGETHER. ALL THINGS CONNECT”. Thank you