The Association of Small Island States, many of which face oblivion as the ocean levels rise had this to say at the end of the Bonn climate negotiations.

"As we consider our approach for the next sessions let us be mindful of the words of Martin Luther King Jr - “In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late…We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: Too late.”"