Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week and participated in a high-level meeting about the existential threat posed by rising sea levels.
A report from UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that the global sea level rose by 6 millimetres in 2024 — the highest annual increase ever recorded.
Whipps, speaking for the Alliance of Small Island States, said for nations that are literally defined by the ocean around them, the impact of sea level rise will be life-altering.
“The climate crisis is not of our making,” Whipps said. Yet it “threatens our culture, our heritage, our identities.”
In an address to the General Assembly, Whipps said Palau’s sovereignty depends on “our ability to feed our people from healthy oceans, power our homes independently from distant fuel markets, and protect our shorelines from rising seas and chart our own path.”
He called for climate financing that reaches communities without adding debt, and said the Pacific region must never be treated as an empty expanse for strategic competition or a test of military power.
“The Pacific is home to peoples, communities, cultures, fisheries, and ecosystems. It is the foundation of our security and the source of our nourishment and lifeline for the global community,” he said. “In the face of these risks, the Pacific way is to address tensions before they become crises. Make room for dialog before disagreement becomes conflict. Seek inclusion rather than isolation, and uphold respect, restraint, and international law. The Pacific is our home, not a theater for geopolitical competition. It must remain an ocean of peace.”
