Development
Climate change at UNGA 81
Raised by 151 of 223 speakers. Read verbatim UN transcript quotes and select a time to hear the speech.
Speeches that raised climate change
Papua New Guinea · Day 4James MarapeMr. President, there is a wider principle here also.
This ultimately is also about human dignity.
If we recognize the dignity of every human being, then we must consider the conditions in which people live and the earth which we will leave behind for our children.
9passages
Tonga · Day 4Lord FakafanuaWe cannot keep negotiating climate, biodiversity, and the ocean in separate COPs when they are clearly an interconnected ecosystem requiring integrated and coherent solutions.
We call on global processes to recognize the ocean climate nexus and address these interconnected challenges together.
We need a more inclusive Security Council equipped for today's challenges, a Security Council that recognizes the triple planetary crisis as a profound threat to peace and security.
9passages
Saint Kitts and Nevis · Day 4Geoffrey HanleyThis is transformation.
On the island of Nevis, we are advancing a 30 megawatt geothermal power development with drilling expected by early 2027 and Icelandic drillers contracted to begin the process.
In Saint Kitts, Plans for a 50 megawatt solar PV and battery storage project are well advanced.
8passages
Solomon Islands · Day 4Matthew Cooper WaleYour unwavering advocacy on climate action and your repeated visits to our region told the world a simple truth, that the Pacific matters and that our challenges and how the world responds to them remain a litmus test for this organization and for us all.
We meet at a time when multilateralism is under serious strain and when the notion that might is right appears to be making a return.
Yet, we continue to gather in forums and dialogues around the world and here in the General Assembly, the pinnacle of multilateralism.
6passages
Azerbaijan · Day 4Jeyhun Aziz oglu BayramovDue to large-scale reconstruction efforts taken by the government, life is now returning to our liberated territories.
Azerbaijan is rebuilding the entire region through smart cities and smart villages powered by green technology.
Areas that were once rubble and ashes are now rising as modern settlements.
6passages
Marshall Islands · Day 4Hilda HeineWe acknowledge the ongoing actions, dialogues, and complex legacy of the UN's administering authority, the United States, but the role of the United Nations cannot pass without comment.
For us and for fellow member states, this apology is an opportunity to reflect upon the past, to bring healing and closure to the Marshallese people.
We carry no larger agenda other than to ensure that the United Nations will do better.
5passages
Tuvalu · Day 4Feleti TeoAnd restoring that trust in that architecture is critical, particularly for small island developing states like Tuvalu, whose sovereignty and future are anchored in that very architecture.
Tuvalu, therefore, stands in solidarity with fellow member states in contributing to the restoration of that trust and advancing the necessary reforms and transformation that will enable the United Nations to deliver for all.
Mr. President, Tuvalu, like other countries, is being challenged by various enforced transformations that threaten our land, values, knowledge and cultures.
5passages
Samoa · Day 4Mulipola Anarosa Ale MoliooCritically, such reforms must not weaken the operation of the UN multi-country offices or the resident coordinator system.
We, Samoa, reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the United Nations As the premier forum to address global crisis, we also caution against premature decision taken without the full consideration and endorsement by member states.
Excellencies, climate change remains the single greatest threat to Samoa and the global community.
5passages
Kazakhstan · Day 4Mukhtar TileuberdiMr. President, the international security environment continues to deteriorate.
World military expenditures reached a record 2.9 trillion dollars in 2025.
Our small planet is home to more than 12,000 nuclear weapons, each one capable of untold damage and sorrow.
5passages
Kiribati · Day 4Taneti MaamauKiribati is proud to have signed and ratified this agreement and calls on member states to recognize the vital importance of our shared oceans and to work collectively to translate the agreement's historic ambition into meaningful global action.
Mr. President, The sustainability of our ocean and fisheries is closely linked to the changing climate and the pressures we face on our marine resources are increasingly compounded by its impact.
Climate remains one of the most pressing challenges to our development and the way of life.
4passages
Lesotho · Day 4Samuel Ntsokoane MatekaneWe remain committed to accountability, professionalism, and respect for human rights for all sectors of society.
We recognize that Culture of peace requires strong institutions that negate violence in all its forms.
An independent judiciary capable of delivering justice impartially and efficiently to restore public trust.
4passages
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Day 4Godwin FridayWe in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines experience firsthand the vulnerability of living on the front lines of climate change.
Having experienced only two years ago.
The sudden destructive power of a category five hurricane.
4passages
Maldives · Day 4Hussain Mohamed LatheefAnd if this organization is restored trust and deliver for all, Palestine must become a full member of the United Nations.
Conflict is not the only threat to sovereignty.
Forces beyond our borders can also limit a state's freedom to shape its own future.
3passages
Malta · Day 4Robert AbelaMalta solidly backs a strong and effective resident coordinator system as the key anchor of UN action at a country level.
And I can't reiterate often enough or restate strongly enough that the only effective antidote to the cancer of cynicism and suspicion is effective and concerted action to tackle the greatest threat to our people and our planet.
And alongside spreading conflict and the dangers of uncontrolled technology, the greatest threat to us all, and especially island nations like Malta, is man-made climate change.
3passages
North Macedonia · Day 4Hristijan MickoskiClimate change will affect economies, agriculture, cities, and the movement of people.
Demographic change will reshape labor markets and social protection systems.
Security will no longer depend on armies and borders, but also on power grids, data centers, cables, satellites, algorithms, and trust in the information we receive every day.
3passages
Saint Lucia · Day 4Philip J. PierreFor small island developing states, these crises are not abstract.
They are lived realities.
Climate change threatens our homes, livelihoods, and very existence.
3passages
Bahamas (the) · Day 4Philip Edward DavisIt is an insurance for the strong.
Mr. President, nowhere is that truer than the climate crisis.
Here, too, we are told there is uncertainty.
3passages
Liechtenstein · Day 4Sabine MonauniAmidst accelerating human suffering the world over, it has never been more important for us to implement this commitment.
President, it has now been many decades since scientists first warned us of the dangers of climate change.
Nevertheless, we have continued to run into the climate abyss, leaving the coming chaos for our children and their children.
3passages
Mauritius · Day 4Dhananjay Ramfulcommensurate with its constructive role in global affairs.
Mr. President, Mauritius welcomes the increasing recourse to the International Court of Justice as a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes and determination of issues of international law.
We call upon member states which have not yet done so to accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ.
3passages
Norway · Day 4Espen Barth EideWe need a Security Council that is open, transparent and accountable in its deliberation.
A Security Council that is both legitimate and effective, measured in its ability to take meaningful action.
President, there is no lack of challenges to be tackled.
3passages
Monaco · Day 4Christophe MirmandAnd what goes for the ocean also goes for the climate.
The Paris Agreement remains our common framework.
Monaco will honor its commitments by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 67.5% by 2030 and by achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
2passages
Haiti · Day 4Alix Didier Fils-AiméPresident of the General Assembly, Secretary-General, heads of state and government, ministers, permanent representatives, distinguished delegates, Haitian people.
In taking the floor at this General Assembly, I feel the weight of history.
More than 80 years ago, in the wake of a war that plunged the world into chaos, Haiti a founding member of the United Nations, joined the nations of the world to make a pledge for peace, for dialogue, and respect for human dignity.
2passages
Egypt · Day 4Moustafa Kamal MadboulyArab and African languages and communities should receive fair representation in data and models.
Egypt has launched the second edition of its national artificial intelligence strategy 2025-2030.
grounded in its firm conviction that the safe and responsible use of technology and the development of national capacities are inseparable requirements.
2passages
Sweden · Day 4Maria Malmer StenergardWe have long been a major donor of development assistance, and we remain devoted to tackling global development challenges and contributing to urgent humanitarian efforts.
Sweden remains a generous donor, but development assistance alone will not be enough to meet the challenges before us.
Mr. President, reducing emissions to curb climate change is a common and global challenge and is necessary to safeguard and increase development gains in the coming decades.
2passages
Iraq · Day 4Ali Falih Al-ZaidiWe stress here the paramount importance of facilitating humanitarian access and the protection of civilians.
Ladies and gentlemen, the security we seek is not limited to halting conflicts, but rather includes confronting climate change, the effects of desertification and water scarcity.
These are challenges that Iraq faces that affect its food security.
1passages
Lebanon · Day 4Nawaf SalamBut those efforts require a fairer and more equitable international economic order, one that offers them genuine opportunities to advance.
Mr. President, our shared responsibility is equally evident in the face of the profound transformations our world is undergoing.
Climate change threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions.
1passages
Pakistan · Day 4Muhammad Shehbaz SharifMr. President, developing countries are in dire need of timely debt relief, affordable long-term financing, and a stronger voice in global financial institutions.
Development must receive the same urgency as security.
Ladies and gentlemen, Is it not an irony of fate that Pakistan contributes less than 1% of global emissions, yet repeatedly bears the horrific consequences of climate change?
1passages
Guinea-Bissau · Day 4Ilídio Vieira TéIt is in this spirit that I bring to this Assembly a message of peace, freedom, and fraternity to all the nations of the world, in the firm hope that every people may live in peace, fully exercise its rights, and freely chart its own path towards development and prosperity.
We live in an interdependent world marked by growing uncertainty and by challenges that transcend borders, climate change, transnational organized crime, terrorism, structural inequalities, the burden of debt, and insufficient financing for development continue to undermine our efforts towards sustainable development.
Devastating conflicts also persist in several regions of the world, as do security challenges, particularly in the Sahel.
1passages
Mauritania · Day 4Mohamed Salem MerzougThere are acute humanitarian, environmental, and economic challenges.
My country, Mauritania, knows full well the importance and sensitivity of this moment.
We would like to stress with humility from this common home that brings us together, from the United Nations, that we all shoulder this responsibility before history.
1passages
Guatemala · Day 4Carlos Ramiro Martínez AlvaradoThat is why in Guatemala, we are restoring the state's capacity to reach those who have been excluded from opportunities for far too long.
The intersectional Mano a Mano strategy brings together health, education, housing, nutrition, and community development to address poverty at the local level.
Following crop losses caused by climate-related events, more than 450,000 families have received food assistance, while small-scale producers have gained access to seeds, tools, inputs, and insurance mechanisms.
1passages
Togo · Day 4Robert Komlan Edo DusseyMr. President, Togo supports efforts as part of the UN80 initiative to improve the effectiveness, the coherence and the accountability of our organization.
Mr. President, economic and climate vulnerabilities are having an impact on stability and security.
In Africa, these are coupled with ongoing security challenges and can fuel tensions and conflict.
1passages