 Think climate, think change. Every second, every minute, every day, our world is changing. Hello. From the first conference of the parties, COP 1 in Berlin, Germany, 1995, to COP 23 in 2017, in Born, Germany, we have seen the worsening impacts of a changing climate. Small island developing states called SIDS, like St. Lucia, now more than ever must take every opportunity at COP 23 to build on the momentum of COP 21 held in Paris two years ago. COP 23 will focus on implementation of the Paris Agreement, including the goal of keeping the global increase in temperature to a minimum and affecting deep cuts in the greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global warming and consequently climate change. Importantly, a COP is an opportunity to progress negotiations on much needed support for adaptation, that is, action taken to prepare for or respond to the actual or expected adverse effects of climate change. Then there's mitigation, action taken to capture or store greenhouse gases in forests and other ecological sinks, or to reduce emissions of these gases that cause global warming and lead to climate change. And there's, of course, loss and damage, which is what results when global mitigation efforts, that is, greenhouse gas emission cuts, are not enough to reduce the adverse effects of climate change and available adaptation measures are not viable options for addressing the magnitude of the impact being experienced.