COP28, an international conference on climate change, started last week. There is a female leader who is attracting a lot of attention. He is the prime minister of Barbados, a Caribbean island nation exposed to climate change.
What are you appealing to now, and why are you paying attention to the world?
Attracting attention to the power of communication
Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Motley is noted for her ability to communicate.
Prime Minister
Mia Motley: "Climate change is a death sentence and unless we change course now and take measures to curb the rise in temperature, we will lose many more lives."
In Barbados, an island nation of 28,<> people in the Caribbean Sea, climate change is causing sea levels to rise, eroding its coastline year by year. Tourism is also a major industry in the country, and the impact has also spread.
Prime Minister Motley, who was the first Japan media to speak to NHK, said that developing countries suffering from climate change have the right to hold developed countries accountable for causing them.
Prime Minister
Mia Motley: "We can't even call it climate change anymore, it's a climate crisis. Many developing countries do not even have the resources to limit the damage caused by climate change. The person responsible for the cause should bear part of the cost."
"It's not about what people think, it's about what each country does."
Over the past few years, Prime Minister Mötley has always been in the spotlight at international conferences discussing climate action.
He has also advocated a new mechanism for developed countries to provide financial support to developing countries, and is no longer limited to the leadership of a single country, but is also seen as a leader of countries in the Global South.
Prime Minister
Mia Motley: "I think reform is needed now, not how we think, but what we need is what countries do."
A diplomat who listened to the speech said, "I was really moved by her speech."
"There is enough goods and money in the world, but there is a problem with how it is distributed.
Last year, Prime Minister Motley was on the cover of Time magazine in the United States and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In a world where various crises are deepening, there are high expectations for the leadership of the leaders of small island nations.
When asked by a reporter, "Some people want you to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations," he replied, "I'm just talking about Barbados."
Prime Minister
Mia Motley: "Selfishness and individualism win and many lose. A safe earth where many people around the world can live vibrantly. That's what I want."