Climate change is a priority issue for Palau says FM

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Palau’s foreign minister on Friday told Rudaw that climate change is the top priority issue for his country and urged greater awareness about the crisis. 

“Climate change has a very big impact on our country right now, and for most of small island developing states,” Gustav Aitaro, Palau’s foreign minister, told Rudaw’s Sinan Tuncdemir on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 

Aitaro said that it is important to advance education and awareness about the climate crisis. He urged international partners to help Palau do this.

“We understand climate change throughout all the countries in the world, but for us, we are the most vulnerable states,” he said. 

Palau is an island nation situated in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, in the western Pacific. Due to its low-lying coastal areas, Palau is highly vulnerable to the direct consequences of climate change such as rising sea levels, more frequent and severe weather patterns, changes in seasonal rainfall, temperature fluctuations, and increasing ocean acidification. 

Hundreds of world leaders and delegates have gathered in New York for the 78th annual UN General Assembly, with around 150 heads of states and governments delivering speeches. The theme of this year’s summit is “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.” It continues through next week.