Photo retrieved from seychellesnewsagency.com
Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan is the new president of SIDS DOCK, a small island developing states initiative for renewable energy and sustainable development.
In a press release on Tuesday, SIDS DOCK said that Ramkalawan was elected by acclamation on Monday at the seventh session of the organisation’s General Assembly. This took place in the margins of the General Debate of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Established in September 2015, SIDS DOCK is an initiative of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). It is so named because it is designed as a docking station to connect the energy sector in small island developing states (SIDS) with the global markets for carbon, finance and sustainable energy technologies.
Ramkalawan’s tenure comes at a time when reports show that the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be achieved by 2030.
Furthermore, the Global Stocktake Report on the commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement, offers a “damning report card for global climate efforts.”
In his statement, Ramkalawan said “Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are now in survival mode. We are surviving only because of our enduring resilience, and every day we fight to survive and to exist despite our vulnerabilities. There are no indicators showing that our situation will get any better, therefore, we must put a definitive plan in place to help our young people.”
His vision for the 7th session of the SIDS DOCK Assembly is “Building a Plan for Future Generations to Survive and Thrive.” It is focused on the current and future generations of small islands and low-lying developing states and puts forward a plan to help the youth in SIDS to survive and thrive with tools to prosper on a planet adversely impacted by changing climate, long into the future.