Foreign Minister Clarice Modeste-Curwen of Grenada addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session. UN Photo/Cia Pak

A framework for climate change “cannot wait,” Grenada’s Foreign Minister said recently, joining other leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean calling for urgent action in the United Nations General Assembly.

“The impacts of climate change are already being felt the world over,” said Clarice Modeste-Curwen, warning that without a successful legally binding agreement in Paris, “we will see climate change continue unabated.”

She went on to note that the Assembly has already recognized the “unique vulnerabilities” of small island developing States (SIDS) regarding climate change, and urged the Security Council to “continue to give greater consideration to [their] special circumstances…in relation to both traditional and non-traditional security concerns.”

Addressing the need for a climate change framework, she calleed for an “immediate consensus” on the issue, particularly with regard to financing.