Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-24 · by Jennifer Mcdermott The Associated Press
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world cannot “allow countries and cultures to vanish beneath the waves” on Thursday as the General Assembly approved its first declaration on sea-level rise.
asserted
Assembly → say → rise
This statement is meant to shift the international response to the rise in sea level driven by humans from fragmented initiatives to sustained, coordinated and adequately-funded action.
asserted
statement → mean → action
It comes as country after country has lamented the toll of climate change in speeches this week and called for collective action.
asserted
country → come → action
Contrarily, U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly calls climate change a hoax, a con job or a scam.
asserted
Trump → call → change
___
THE QUOTE: “Until recently, the response to climate change was firmly established at the center of the international agenda.
asserted
response → establish → agenda
This year, however, the topic disappeared from the debates of the G7 and G20, forums that bring together the largest carbon emitters.
asserted
that → disappear → emitters
It is time to resume the offensive and inflict a defeat on denialism.
asserted
It → resume → denialism
Nature reminds us every day that we live on one planet.
asserted
we → remind → planet
The glaciers in the Himalayas are melting.
asserted
glaciers → melt → Himalayas
The super El Nino may cause torrential rains, droughts and forest fires in different parts of the globe.”
uncertain
Nino → cause → globe
Climate change and deforestation threaten the Amazon.
asserted
change → threaten → Amazon
A strong El Nino, a cyclic warming of the equatorial Pacific, causes higher temperatures and drier weather in the rainforest, conditions that worsen wildfires.
asserted
that → cause → wildfires
THE QUOTE: “What we experienced in Nepal was Himalayan tsunami.
asserted
experienced → experience → Nepal
But the larger looming threat is even more consequential.
asserted
threat → loom → ?
It is not only the devastation we mourn today; it is for greater danger that lies ahead if the world continues to look away...
asserted
world → mourn → danger
I call upon you to treat climate action not as a charity, but as a matter of justice.”
asserted
I → call → justice
Human-caused global warming thinned glaciers and thawed mountain permafrost, likely helping to destabilize the Himalayan slope that collapsed last month and unleashed catastrophic flooding across Nepal, according to a World Weather Attribution report.
uncertain
that → cause → report
More than 1,300 people were killed and over 5,000 remain missing.
asserted
5,000 → kill → ?
“To protect the lives of present and future generations, all states must take serious action to tackle global warming.
asserted
states → protect → warming
I believe that climate action and economic growth can go hand-in-hand.”
asserted
action → believe → hand
Japan is working to protect communities from warming and has pledged to slash emissions, but extreme heat remains a threat in the short term.
_
asserted
heat → work → term
“I think this summer was a summer of truth.
asserted
summer → think → truth
The recent summer months have been, as we heard from the scientists, the hottest on record, but may be the coolest for the years to come.”
— Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission
THE SITUATION
uncertain
we → hear → Commission
Europe is heating up twice as fast as the global rate, making it the fastest-warming continent.
asserted
it → heat → rate
THE QUOTE: “By the end of this century, 12 to 18% of our coastal areas could be submerged by sea level rise, affecting the livelihoods of tens of millions.
uncertain
% → submerge → millions
Climate change has caused loss and damage equivalent to 1% of our GDP.
asserted
change → cause → GDP
The low-lying geography of Bangladesh makes it one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
asserted
it → lie → change
THE QUOTE: “Cabo Verde speaks with the same voice as other countries that are also living the climate crisis every day.
asserted
that → speak → crisis
It is an existential reality affecting our economies, our food and water security, our coastlines and ultimately our people’s future.”
asserted
It → affect → economies
Cape Verde, like other small island developing states, is grappling with rising sea levels and increasingly powerful storms that erode shorelines, submerge land and threaten homes and livelihoods.
asserted
that → develop → homes
“Nearly a third of the world’s tuna is caught in Pacific waters.
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third → catch → waters
And it’s moving east into the high seas.
asserted
it → move → seas
More than a quarter of our people live within a kilometer of the shore.
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quarter → live → shore
Six of our communities have already moved.
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Six → move → communities
Two more are moving now.
asserted
Two → move → ?
Lalabalavu cited projections that by 2050, the fish available to each Fijian is projected to fall by nearly a quarter, from 41 kilograms (90 pounds) a year to about 31.
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fish → cite → 31
comes from climate change, he said.
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he → come → change
THE QUOTE: “The climate crisis is often referred to as a ‘global group project shared by all 8 billion people on Earth.’
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crisis → refer → Earth
A single country cannot tackle this challenge alone.
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country → tackle → challenge
At the same time, abandoning growth cannot bring everyone on board.”
asserted
abandoning → abandon → board
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
