PM Mottley calls for change in attitude and values during speech at Summit of the Future

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 Saturday evening 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,” she said.

“I believe that it is possible for us to have a win-win, I believe that hope can be restored, but I do recognise that we are at an inflection point. 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.

“It is unconscionable for us not to recognise that unless we can provide the basics of food, water, shelter, electricity to all people on this earth, we cannot talk about being a successful generation in human civilization,” Mottley added.

According to the Barbados Prime Minister, while there is sufficient to be able to share, “what is needed is a change in attitude and values.”

During her address, Mottley saluted United Nations Secretary General António Guterres for championing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“I want us to leave here with a pep in our step and with a commitment to the principles that can truly bring harmony and a shared mission to save planet and people,” she said.

On Sunday world leaders adopted a potentially game-changing Pact for the Future. The centrepiece of the Summit of the Future, the pact is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the multilateral system and steer humanity on a new course to meet existing commitments and solve long-term challenges. (DLB)