United Nations Radio

Tillman Thomas

Today marked the moment when the political momentum has shifted in favour of sealing a fair, effective and ambitious global climate deal in Copenhagen. That's how Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon summed up Tuesday's high-level summit on climate change to reporters Tuesday evening. The Secretary-General said "this summit has put fresh wind in our sails. It has harnessed much-needed political momentum".  Nearly 100 heads of state and government attended the largest ever gathering of the climate challenge and Grenada's Prime Minister Tillman Thomas is one of the attendees.  He was speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). He said the entire world is waiting on the choices governments are making to address the global climate problem.

Prime Minister David Thompson talks about the impact of climate change on Barbados

David Thompson

Global warming is having a major impact on small island developing states. That's what Barbados' Prime Minister David Thompson told UN Radio this week on the sidelines of a summit of the Alliance of Small island States. Thompson made his comments in response to Donn Bobb's question as to how much of an impact climate change was having on Barbados.

Prime Minister Denzil Douglas says St.Kitts-Nevis has been able to navigate its way through the current global financial crisis

Denzil Douglas

The global financial and economic crisis is one of a number of crucial issues on the international agenda as more than 120 world leaders meet at the United Nations. They are expected to tackle issues ranging from terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons to increasing poverty and of course, climate change. Earlier, Donn Bobb spoke with Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St. Kitts-Nevis who told him that the twin-island federation has been able to navigate its way somewhat successfully through this period of crisis in the global financial and economic challenges that the region is facing.

President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana says the financial and economic crisis has been devastating to small states

Bharrat Jagdeo

Caribbean States have begun expressing their concerns in the general debate in the UN General Assembly. Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo told the assembly that one common thread through every financial and economic crisis has been the devastating effects and lasting damage exacted on the smallest and most vulnerable economies of the world. He said the peculiar vulnerabilities of small states have long been identified. These he added, include the minute size of their domestic markets, remoteness of location, susceptibility to disasters, few opportunities for diversification, limited opportunities for economies of scale, among others.

Producer: Donn Bobb
duration: 15'00"