Prime Minister Philip Davis’s Keynote Remarks at the 4th Annual Bahamas Youth Climate Conference

Good morning, everyone.

And welcome to the 4th Annual Bahamas Youth Climate Conference.

It is such an honour to join you today, surrounded by young people who care deeply about their nation and their world; young people who are advocating, taking decisive action, and leading the way as we address the most pressing issue of our time.

This year has made the urgency of that mission impossible to ignore. 

Across Europe, unprecedented heatwaves have triggered public-health emergencies, disrupted schools and transport, strained electricity grids, and worsened fires and drought. 

Preliminary estimates have linked roughly a thousand excess deaths each in Spain and France to the heat. 

Across the American Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast, feel-like temperatures have climbed to 100 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

And we in The Bahamas have not been spared. 

We entered summer-level heat stress unusually early this year. 

In May, our Department of Meteorology and Ministry of Health were already warning of heat-index values between 102 and 108 degrees. 

By mid-June, that range had climbed to 102 to 110 degrees. 

Bahamas Power and Light pointed to the strain of that early heat, alongside equipment faults, as a factor in outages we experienced in early June.

And for our families, that heat is more than discomfort – it is an added cost of living. 

More electricity, more water and ice, more fans running, more reliance on transportation rather than walking. 

Extreme heat is quietly taxing every household in this country.

The existential threat of climate change worsens each day we do not take sufficient action.

And while the leaders of global superpowers consistently fail to do what it takes to sufficiently address the dangers posed by climate change, I find hope and strength to carry on this fight each time I see young people like you, ready and willing to put in the work and make a difference in whatever way you can.

There is nothing more powerful than young people committed to a cause. 

Just about every major movement in modern history has been powered by youth, and climate change will be no different.

As your Prime Minister, I spend a great deal of time on the international stage. I stand in the United Nations, at Climate Change summits and conferences, and alongside world leaders, demanding climate justice for Small Island Developing States.

I tell them about the ferocity and destruction of Hurricane Dorian that befell our islands in 2019. 

I tell them about our eroding coastlines, our warming waters, and our dying reefs. 

And this year, I tell them, too, about a warming Caribbean – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has already warned that El Niño-related ocean warming could bring renewed bleaching risk to Florida and our region later this summer, threatening the reefs, fisheries, and tourism industry so many Bahamian livelihoods depend on.

But the truth is, the reason why I am able to project my voice so strongly on the world stage is because of the work you do here at home.

When you plant mangroves in Grand Bahama, when you restore coral reefs off the coast of Eleuthera,  when you advocate for solar energy in New Providence and across our archipelago, and when you commit to reducing waste in your own households, you are providing the blueprint that the rest of us must follow. In many ways, it is our youth who are leading the way and inspiring change. 

You are proving that a people committed to their environment cannot be defeated by the  tides of climate change. 

Do not ever look at your backyard, your school, or your community project and think it is too small to matter. Because the global climate fight will not be won by a single, grand gesture. 

It will be won by billions of small actions joined together by a shared purpose. 

You are the agents of change that we need in this era of climate change.

So today, I issue a solemn charge. Not just to the brilliant young minds sitting in this room, but to every single citizen across our archipelago—from the child entering primary school to the elder watching the sunset in our Family Islands.

I charge you to be a climate activist in your own right. 

To our youth: Be relentless. Disrupt the status quo. Keep holding our government, our businesses, and your communities accountable. Your energy is the engine of our survival. 

To our workers and business leaders: Innovate. We must build a blue and green economy that respects our natural resources rather than depleting them. 

To our elders: Pass down the traditional knowledge of sustainable living, of farming, and of reading the land and sea that kept our ancestors resilient for generations. 

Climate activism isn’t just about marching in the streets or giving lofty speeches. It is a daily decision to love and protect the country we call home. It is picking up trash on a  beach. It is conserving water. It is teaching a friend why our wetlands matter. 

The Bahamas is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, yes – but we are also on the frontlines of climate leadership. 

We are leading global advocacy efforts. We are innovating with blue carbon credits, marine protections, and sustainable investments. And we are striving to meet and surpass global benchmarks when it comes to clean energy targets that not even global superpowers are meeting.

We may be a small island, but we are making a big difference. And we still have so much work left to do.

So as you deliberate over the next two days, be bold, be fierce, and remember that the world is watching The Bahamas. 

Let us show them that local action can and will make a global impact.

Thank you to the Climate Change and Environmental Advisory Unit for their unwavering dedication to keeping our future at the forefront of national dialogue.  

Thank you to the organizers of this conference for their hard work in hosting yet another successful and purposeful event.

Thank you all for being here today and for contributing in whatever way you can.

God bless you, and may God continue to bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.