By Daphne Psaledakis and Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Faced with what they see as an existential threat, leaders from low-lying and island nations implored rich countries at the United Nations General Assembly this week to act more forcefully against a warming planet.

The failure of the developed nations to curb greenhouse gas emissions has contributed to rising sea level and places low-lying countries at the mercy water.

In a recorded speech, Marshall Islands President David Kabua stated that there was no better ground than this to surrender. “The world can’t delay climate ambition anymore.”

The 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change mitigation required countries to agree to keep global temperatures from rising to 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit), which is what scientists consider the critical threshold to prevent catastrophic climate changes. According to scientists, to do this, it is necessary to reduce the global emission by 50% by 2030 and make sure that they are net-zero by 2050.

According to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Maldives will be condemned to death if there is any difference in temperature between 1.5 and 2.

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali criticised large polluters who have failed to keep their promises of reducing emissions. He called them “deception and failure” and warned that climate change would kill more people than the COVID-19 epidemic.

Ali spoke to world leaders Thursday, stating that similar hopes were held by the worst greenhouse gas emitters in the world. They will realize that it is not worth their while to be king of a dusty world.

Ali said that small islands and low-lying countries, such as Guyana, would bear the brunt of the impending catastrophe despite their being the least greenhouse gas emitters.

He said, “This isn’t only unjust but it is also unfair.”

Richard Gowan (UN director of the International Crisis Group), said that there was a sense of “existential crisis” at this year’s United Nations annual meeting.

Washington and Beijing want to be seen leading the fight against global climate change. Gowan claimed that leaders of small islands won’t be able to get the people listening at the General Assembly if they don’t succeed.

U.S. President Joe Biden stated Tuesday that he was willing to work with Congress and double the amount of funds per year for developing nations to combat climate change.

It would enable the United States to reach its global goal of 100 billion dollars per annum by 2020 for climate support in developing countries, which was set more than 10 years ago.

Xi Jinping the Chinese President, vowed to stop building foreign coal-fired energy plants. The move was well received.

‘WE MUST ACT NOW’

Biden and Xi made their commitments less than six weeks before the Oct. 31-Nov. 12 COP26 U.N. Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow (Scotland) by U.N. SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres. Guterres warned that the conference is at risk due to mistrust among rich and poor nations.

Suriname’s President Chan Santokhi called for ambitious and concrete commitments to be made to COP26. He urged developed countries to recommit at least $100 billion annually.

Santokhi stated that political and idealistic commitments are not enough unless they’re supported financially.

Suriname is one of the cases. We are determined to fight climate change, he stated to the General Assembly.

Palau, an archipelago nation in the Pacific Archipelago warned that time is running out.

Simply put, it is imperative that we act quickly to make sure our children have a secure and healthy future. “We must act immediately before more irreparable damage to the planet is done,” Surangel Whipps, Jr. Palau president said during the event.

Boris Johnson (the U.K. Prime Minster) called for world leaders on Wednesday to take the required commitments to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

On the current trajectory, he warned that temperatures could rise by as much as 2.7°C by the end century.

Johnson added that Johnson did not think about the impact on the New York Ice floes. Johnson explained, “Never mind what it will do to them. It’ll dissolve like ice into your Manhattan.” Johnson stated that we will experience desertification and drought as well as crop failures, mass movements, and other problems on a magnitude never seen before. This is not due to any unforeseen natural events or catastrophes, but rather because of our actions now.