"Ashleigh Rolle, 'One Young World' Ambassador of The Bahamas, addresses
the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth to address the effects of climate
change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, The
Bahamas will lose 80% of its land mass."
Miss Rolle's transcripts read:
My name is Ashleigh Rolle and I’m a One
Young World ambassador from the Bahamas.
Although hard to find on a map, my country boasts beautiful waters that merge with the sky to create the perfect
mirage of wonder. A vast wildlife and an eclectic culture this is my home. This
is my pride. And so I respectfully address my plea to the Right Honourable
Perry Gladstone Christie, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
when I call for radical action to limit the effects of climate change. Now.
In 2005 the intergovernmental panel on Climate
Change reported rising sea levels of 8 inches with a projected 39
additional inches by the end of the century meaning the Bahamas will lose 80%
of its land due to climate change. They
also reported severe weather patterns, just as we've recently seen in the
form of Hurricane Joaquin,one of the worst to hit
the islands in decades which completely demolished the southern Bahamas.
Climate change is not a figment of our imagination. It is real and it's
happening now.
Although a small nation, we play a part in creating a cleaner world, Prime
Minister. 65% of Bahamas’ emission of carbon dioxide results from our use of
electricity generated by liquid fossil fuels.
In your address during the Regional
Summit on Climate Change, you made mention of
a bold policy commitment to lead
the Bahamas towards cleaner energy by
2033. There have been few public steps however in the fulfillment this policy. With the current energy crisis
striking the capital and no indication of it getting better, this is the
perfect opportunity to not just write policy but to implement it.
I call on you Prime Minister Christie, reduce the importation of liquid fossil
fuels by enforcing alternative methods of energy found in both wind and solar.
Let us begin with the devastated islands
of the Southern Bahamas and turn them into a model of what the entire country
can and will look like.
The cost is cheap compared to the price we will pay when our country no longer
exists due to our lack of action.
