‘World's breadbaskets’ are sinking, General Assembly chief warns

Although small island States are the most vulnerable to rising sea levels, the scope of those impacted is much wider, the President of the UN General Assembly warned on Thursday.

International financing is the fuel for sustainable development, but small island States are “running on empty” - drowning in debt and rising sea levels due to climate change and through no fault of their own.

As wars and crises dominate global headlines, leaders from small island developing States used the UN General Assembly platform to sound the alarm on climate change – their most pressing existential threat – warning that it is obliterating economies and livelihoods.