(CNN) Grenada and other Small Island Developing States are on the front line in the war against climate change. Although hurricanes are no stranger to the Caribbean, the overwhelming scientific evidence of how extreme weather conditions are worsening due to global warming shows that we need to take the signals that our Earth is sending us seriously. That evidence can be found in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 2018 special report on the effects of global warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius — and in the devastation left by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the region, in the form of mangled towns, villages, homes and critical infrastructure, wrecked lives, devastated crops and ecosystems, damaged economies and financial markets.
As leaders of Small Island Developing States see the rising tides and feel the temperature changes, we will not play a waiting game, hoping major economies will come to our rescue.
