Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has called for a change of attitude and values as the world confronts major challenges that she said can disrupt the lives of people everywhere. Mottley spoke on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 21, at the closing ceremony of the Summit of the Future Action Days at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
“We are here in the season of superlatives — from the driest, to the wettest, to the strongest storms — every possible thing that we could imagine that can disrupt our way of life, from the environment and range biodiversity that is so essential to the balance of our earth has already been affecting us,” Mottley said.
According to the prime minister, even though noises have been made for the last few decades that things ought to change, they have continued in the same direction.
“This world can change, but it needs our energy, [and] our commitment. I believe that it is possible for us to have a win-win, I believe that hope can be restored, but I do recognize that we are at an inflection point,” said Mottley. “And those who have power and want to maintain the status quo– even though they do not yet have a plan for us to live on Mars– they are adamant on not creating the space or the policy flexibility, or the access to the funding necessary for us to bring along others.”