The Cape Verdean Prime Minister, Francisco Carvalho, today called for mobilization in the face of the climate crisis as a matter of justice by intervening in the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
© Lusa
26/09/2026
by
Lusa
“ A climate crisis is also a matter of justice, because those who least contribute [to the crisis] cannot continue to bear some of its most serious consequences. Science has already shown the way, we have to transform this valuable knowledge into decision and action ", said.
Francisco Carvalho spoke in the Cape Verdean language in his first speech in the general debate of the assembly as Prime Minister, after the African Independence Party of Cape Verde (PAICV), which leads, won the legislatures of 17 May.
The intervention was made the day after the tropical storm Gonzalo caused floods, power cuts, and fell trees on several islands of the archipelago.
“ The climate crisis is already there: in the drought, in the acidification of the oceans, in the rising water levels. We saw what happened [on Friday] in Santa Maria, where sea water entered the avenue in front of the hotels ", said, in an allusion to the damage on the island of Sal, the most tourist in the country.
“We have already launched the challenge” of a global climate pact, he said, in addition to Cape Verde, boosting talks at the United Nations, “because for a country of islands, protecting the ocean is not just an environmental policy: it is protecting territory, economy and the future.”.
Cape Verde will take over in 2027 the presidency of the Alliance of Small Insular States (AOSIS) and intends to “implement an agenda for fairer funding” of climate action, along with strengthening ocean protection.
Cape Verde is an arid archipelago, but also subject to storms and sudden rains.
In August 2025, storm Erin killed nine people on the island of São Vicente and, in November, intense precipitation provoked a deadly victim on the island of Santiago.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations agency, 2025 has been the second or third hottest year since there are records, with the warming of the oceans intensifying storms and aggravating the rise in sea level.
In today's speech in New York, Francisco Carvalho argued that international law should prevail over force, supported multilateralism, reforms in the United Nations to make the organization more effective and increased representation of Africa in the Security Council.
The Cape Verdean Prime Minister quoted an expression of Amílcar Cabral, precursor of the independences of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde: “Always learn” and defended the central role of education, considering that giving opportunity to young people is “protecting the planet” and “promoting peace”.