UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday asked for more donations for hurricane-impacted Caribbean nations and urged countries around the world to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change.
"I commend those countries that are showing solidarity with the Caribbean countries at this time of dire need ... But on the whole, I regret to report, the response has been poor. I urge donors to respond more generously in the weeks to come," Guterres told reporters.
The United Nations has launched appeals for 114 million U.S. dollars to cover humanitarian needs for the immediate period ahead, he said.
To date, the United Nations and its partners have provided a variety of humanitarian assistance to the Caribbean region, including 18 tons of food, 3 million water purification tablets, 3,000 water tanks, 2,500 tents and 2,000 mosquito nets and school kits, said Guterres.
The UN chief will travel to Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica on Saturday to survey the damage and to assess what more the United Nations can do to help people recover and to visit UN operations there.
In an encounter with the UN press corps prior to his trip, Guterres said he was particularly impressed by speeches from leaders of Caribbean nations during the General Debate of the UN General Assembly in late September.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne reported that the entire population of Barbuda had been left homeless as a result of Hurricane Irma. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica declared that he had come to the United Nations "straight from the front-line of the war on climate change," Guterres noted.
The Caribbean region was battered by two Category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria, within two weeks in September, suffering tremendous damage.
In addition to assistance to hurricane-hit Caribbean nations, Guterres stressed the importance of combating climate change, particularly the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
"When I met them last month, I was struck most of all by a prevailing message from all the Caribbean leaders, including from the hardest hit countries. Yes, they said, we urgently need support today. But even in the wake of utter devastation, they urged the world to act for tomorrow."
Guterres said there is compelling evidence for climate change. "As I said in my address to the General Assembly, we should not link any single weather event with climate change. But scientists are clear that such extreme weather is precisely what their models predict, and they predict it will be the new normal of a warming world."
Hurricane Irma, which devastated Barbuda, was a Category 5 hurricane for three consecutive days, the longest on satellite record. Irma's winds reached 300 km per hour for 37 hours, the longest on record at that intensity, he said.
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma marked the first time that two Category 4 storms made landfall in the United States in the same year. And, of course, they were followed by Hurricane Maria, which decimated Dominica and had severe impacts across Puerto Rico, he noted.
"It is rare to see so many storms of such strength so early in the season."
Scientific models have long predicted an increase in the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes. This is precisely what is happening, and even sooner than expected, he added.
Sea levels have risen more than 10 inches (25.4 cm) since 1870. Over the past 30 years, the number of annual weather-related disasters has nearly tripled, and economic losses have quintupled, said Guterres.
He stressed the need to implement the Paris Agreement, saying the global compact is "the best foundation for the future" although it is not enough to keep the increase in the global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
"What is important is that the Paris Agreement is the solid foundation to allow us to have the ambition to go further to make sure that we do not have a warming of the planet at catastrophic levels that would happen if we move on as we are."
"We know that the world has the tools, the technologies and the wealth to address climate change, but we must show more determination in moving toward a green, clean, sustainable energy future," said Guterres.
On the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, Guterres said the U.S. society -- states, cities, businesses -- is still committed despite the position of the White House.
Asked whether he had a chance to point out this fact with U.S. President Donald Trump, the UN chief said: "It is clear that there is a different perspective on this issue. I have not yet lost my hope that what is happening will be making those that are still skeptical about climate change to be more and more realizing that this, indeed, is a major threat for the international community at the present moment."
