Island nations remain under threat from climate change, he added.
Those most affected are those who could least afford a response, he added.
According to Mori, families in Micronesia have been adversely impacted by the inability to secure fuel.
He called for the acceleration of development and sharing of technologies for renewable and affordable alternative energy sources.
The assistance of the international community and financial institutions should also follow, he said.
The energy crisis led to an increase in the cost of foodstuffs, Mori said, noting that imported rice, a staple of the Micronesian diet, has become unaffordable.
He said the nexus between food security and climate change is being felt in his country, which has farmlands barely a few meters above sea level.
Taro and other crops have already been inundated by salt water from the surrounding rising waters, he added.
The seas must be managed sustainably to preserve the bounty they provide, he said.
Collateral catches and discards in commercial fisheries are also troubling as they impact both critical resources and areas of cultural importance to Micronesia, Mori said.
He noted that the world’s financial turbulence, while emanating from larger economies, put everyone at risk.
He encouraged developed countries not to use this current situation as a pretext to pull back from the agreed target of 0.7 percent of gross domestic product for official development assistance.
He also spoke of Security Council reform, supporting expansion of membership in both categories, adding that India, Japan and Germany should all be made permanent members.
But he said climate change is the greatest challenge to achieving the Millennium Development Goals for small islands developing states.
The sea rise could wash away the islands and their culture, he said.
Melting glaciers and snow pack from the Tibetan Plateau, and the disintegration of the Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets could reach a tipping point, causing meters of sea rise, putting the entire planet in peril, Mori said.
He called for fast-track mitigation strategies to protect the climate and the ozone layer, such as strengthening the Montreal Protocol on ozone depletion.
While sustainable development is essential, he said global warming must be approached from a holistic perspective, rather than limited to sustainable development, humanitarian or technical issues, or economic or environmental issues.
Climate change also impacts human rights, international peace and security, territorial integrity and the very existence of small island nations, Mori said.
The United Nations, governments, public and private enterprises, such as academic and research institutions, must work together to combat climate change, he added.
