Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Marcus L. Natta
Excellencies, colleagues, as this is the first time Saint Kitts and Nevis is taking the floor, we extend profound thanks to the Government and People of Uruguay for hosting this critical meeting.
Saint Kitts and Nevis stands at the frontline of the triple planetary crisis. As a large ocean state, our identity, economy and survival are bound to the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. We see the bleaching of our coral reefs, feel the weight of plastics washing onto our shores and witness the contamination threatening our marine ecosystems and communities. This is not abstract science—it is our daily reality.
The roots of this crisis—climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution—are entangled. But let us be unequivocal: pollution is the common thread. Chemicals leaching into our waters, waste choking our coastlines and toxins entering our food chains undermine our countries transformation pathway which we call our Sustainable Island State Agenda and the very future of small island nations.
We welcome this Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution with urgency and resolve. It must be:
- Action-Oriented: Transforming data into policies that halt pollution at its source.
- Equitable: Centering the vulnerabilities of SIDS and ensuring our voices drive solutions.
- Unflinching: Confronting the chemical and waste emergencies head-on—not in silos, but as interconnected crises.
To the Panel: Your mandate is clear. Deliver science that compels policy. Deliver justice for ocean states. Deliver hope for our islands.
Saint Kitts and Nevis stands ready. Let us begin.
