Jason Momoa delivered an impassioned speech about climate change to the United Nations (UN).

The Aquaman star addressed a high-level meeting concerning Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – which include the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Haiti – at the UN’s headquarters in New York.

The Hawaiian-born actor explained that he was standing before the meeting as a “singular representative of all island nations”, which he said were the “frontlines” of the environmental crisis.

“The oceans are in a state of emergency”, he warned. “Entire marine ecosystems are vanishing with the warming of the seas, and as the waste of our world empties into our waters, we face the devastating crisis of plastic pollution.

“We are a disease that is infecting our planet.”

The 40-year-old said it was “shameful” that there are now more plastic particles in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way.

“Island nations contribute the least to this disaster, but are made to suffer the weight of its consequences,” he added.

The Game of Thrones star implored the governments of the world and corporate powers to take immediate action to counteract the damage that has been caused to the environment.

“The people will hold our governments and corporate powers accountable for the destruction you are allowing to our environment,” he said.

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The actor stressed the importance of unity on a global scale to protect and preserve the environment, “to once again bring harmony between mankind and the natural balance of our world”.

“As a human species we need the earth to survive. But make no mistake – the earth doesn’t need us,” he said of the “global crisis”.

Ending with an Island proverb highlighting the fragile nature of the earth, he said it was like a “canoe in the middle of the sea”.

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The meeting which Momoa addressed was held five years on from the adoption of the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA Pathway) by UN member states five years ago.

The agreement outlined that the countries would acknowledge the “need to support and invest in these nations so they can achieve sustainable development”.

Following the deliverance of his speech, Momoa shared a post on Instagram in which he described his appearance at the event as a “life-changing moment” and a “true honour”.