Small Island Developing States (SIDS) "find themselves on the front line of a battle against a confluence of crises, none of which they have caused or created," said Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, which is hosting a SIDS conference this week.
The most pressing crisis is a worsening climate catastrophe as the world nears global warming of 1.5C, the upper threshold set in the Paris climate accord.
"The major contributors to climate change have failed to meet the obligations to mitigate its effects, causing significant harm to SIDS and our planet in general," Browne said.
Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan warned that "the climate crisis will destroy all of us," but that "the world is taking its time while we suffer."
Caught between rising debts and rising oceans, from the Caribbean to Africa to the Pacific, many SIDS share characteristics that make them especially vulnerable to external shocks: small landmasses home to scattered and isolated populations, with import dependent, non-diversified economies.
And climate change -- with its brutal droughts, powerful hurricanes and rising seas -- is threatening to erase some of them from the map altogether.
"We cannot accept the disappearance of any country or culture under the rising waves," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said as he opened the SIDS conference, adding the international community has a "duty" to offer support.
"The idea that an entire island state could become collateral damage for profiteering by the fossil fuel industry, or competition between major economies, is simply obscene," Guterres said.
- 'Blue economy' -
"The costs will only rise and will be paid in more and more human lives if we fail to deal with the root cause, that is fossil fuels," said Hilda Heine, president of the Marshall Islands.
High on the agenda for the 39 states, whose populations number roughly 65 million people: increasing climate financing, even as many criticize the slow pace of fulfilling previous UN aid pledges.
According to the UN Development Program, some $4.7-7.3 billion in financing is needed per year just for climate adaptation measures in SIDS countries.
But most small island states are classified as middle-income countries or higher -- meaning that they're unable to access international aid and preferential financing available to the world's poorest countries.
"They are being trapped in a no man's land where financing from the international community that is often a kind of safety net is simply not available to them," said Achim Steiner, head of the UNDP.
Beyond seeking outside aid, however, many are also turning toward reforming their own economies.
Priorities include developing renewable energy sectors and engaging in the so-called "blue economy" of sustainable fishing and ocean conservation -- a serious opportunity for SIDS countries, which account for 19 percent of the world's Exclusive Economic Zones.
Tourism, too, can be made more sustainable -- though the specter of climate change hangs over these countries' marine biodiversity and coral reefs, which draw scuba divers from across the world.
UN chief says 'obscene' that small islands pay climate consequences
United Nations, United States (AFP) May 27, 2024 -
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday it is "obscene" that small island states, which are on the front line of climate change, should pay for the fossil fuel industry's greed and competition between major economies.
"Your unique geography puts you at the mercy of climate chaos, rising sea levels and land degradation," Guterres said at the opening of the fourth Small Island Developing States (SIDS) summit in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
"Climate change is an existential crisis for the entire human family, but SIDS are on the front lines," he told the conference of 39 states, whose populations number roughly 65 million people.
SIDS are extremely vulnerable to climate change but not rich enough to stop it on their own. One key hope from the summit is increased climate financing -- though many criticize the slow pace of fulfilling previous UN aid pledges.
"We cannot accept the disappearance of any country or culture under the rising waves," Guterres said.
"The idea that an entire island state could become collateral damage for profiteering by the fossil fuel industry, or competition between major economies, is simply obscene," he added.
Guterres said the United Nations supported SIDS' aspirations to "halt and mitigate the terrible impacts of the climate crisis," as well as to protect the ocean and biodiversity, and to build resilient economies.
He urged SIDS governments to invest and engage in these goals but said they "cannot do this alone."
"The international community has a duty to support you -- led by the countries that have greatest responsibility and capacity to deal with the challenges you face," Guterres said.
"SIDS are a test case for climate justice and financial justice," he added.
Last week, the UN maritime court ruled in favor of nine small island states that brought a case to seek increased protection of the world's oceans from catastrophic climate change.
The countries that brought the case called the court decision "historic," and experts said it could be influential in shaping the scope of future climate litigation involving greenhouse gas emissions.
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