_{Photo: Afioga Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of Samoa}

“We will continue to reiterate that now is the time for serious climate action. There is no time for cat-and-mouse games; large emitters must do all they can to reverse this trend. In as much as we need financial support to mitigate the impacts of climate change, for us, no amount of money can compensate for the destruction and utter devastation that our people and islands face”: Prime Minister of Samoa and Chairperson of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), Honorable Fiamç Naomi Mata’afa.

by Marco Lopez

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 30, 2024

The twin-island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda is the host of the fourth United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4). The four-day conference runs from May 27 – 30 and seeks to achieve “course correcting” that will result in a more resilient future for small islands. Under the theme, “Charting the course towards resilient prosperity,” the conference is being attended by over 5,000 persons from SIDS and their partners globally.

At the launch of the event, Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres said, “The world is fast approaching the 1.5 degrees limit that would avoid the worst impacts of global heating. Exceeding this limit could trigger multiple climate tipping points with abrupt, irreversible and dangerous impacts for humanity, posing an existential threat to some SIDS.”

Small islands are at the frontlines of both climate and economic shocks. These vulnerable countries are calling on the global community to play its part in correcting the injustices brought on by historical and modern greenhouse gas emitters. Playing their part would mean providing the necessary support for the specific and concrete measures that will not only safeguard SIDS from future shocks, but to build upon their developmental objectives.

At the opening of the meeting, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne was elected president of the conference.

During his opening speech, PM Browne said, “Our inherited vulnerabilities, characterized by small size, limited financial resources, and constrained human capital, place us at a disadvantage on the global stage, with the scales of equity and justice unevenly balanced against us.”

A salient call being made by SIDS at this conference is for the reform of the global financial system. Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley explains that this call for increased funding is not for SIDS to go on a spending spree, but to put in place the multiple mitigation and adaptation measures necessary for SIDS to prepare for impacts.

“We need to scale up funding tremendously,” Mottley explains, “not because we want to go on a spending spree. But if I don’t do coastal infrastructure, at the same time that I am doing resilience housing, at the same time that you are making access to do your labs so that you can do the public health monitoring … if you don’t do these things all at once, you are going to be in trouble.”

At one of the 170 side events taking place at this conference, Mottley officially launched consultations for the renewed Bridgetown Initiative. Bridgetown 3.0 – as it is dubbed – seeks to bring about system change, Mottley explained.

She pointed out, during a panel discussion held alongside PM Browne and UN Sec. Gen Guterres, that changing the current standards held by the global financial infrastructure is necessary to remedy the problem of lack of access to affordable finance many SIDS still face. This 18-month consultation will focus on securing significant funding for small islands by pushing pivotal reforms in the global financial system.

“We have a date with destiny,” PM Mottley expressed. “Finance is not the destination, but the medium to achieve resilience. We are spending so much time on financial reforms that we forget we still have a marathon to run.”

President of SIDS4, Gaston Browne, in a comment during the panel discussion, agreed that the world continues to fall short when it comes to support for SIDS.

“We have not made significant progress in terms of reforming the international financial architecture. Many of us, for decades, have argued for changes to make the system fit our purpose,” Browne said.

UN Sec. Gen. Antonio Guterres accepts that a lack of political will is what underpins the lack of progress and limited the access to affordable finance flowing to SIDS. He points out that the current global financial system is riddled with structural negative handicaps and is “too small for the challenge,” adding that the existing instruments are “totally insufficient” to address the systemic issues.

In his comments, he pointed out, “All the proposals made until now show a lack of political will to make the structural changes needed for the system to work and address the challenges of SIDS. The system is too small and distorted in its priorities, making access to resources extremely difficult.”

PM Mottley, in her comments, reiterated this sentiment.

“The core problem is an absence of political will. We know politics is local, and this is compounded by geopolitics. But let me tell you, from a small island nation leader’s perspective, how many heads of the developed world are here?” PM Mottley underscored.

“They won’t be here, because they don’t see us,” she said.

She said that a lack of decision-making space for collaboration between developed and developing countries solidifies an old “feudal overlord system” where SIDS are like “serfs.”

SIDS4 will result in the signing of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (SIDS) – a Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity. This action document will outline the climate actions and sustainable development goals of SIDS going into the next 10 years. As a part of this signing, a Centre for Excellence for SIDS will be established to serve as a hub for research, capacity building, and collaborations to enhance the resilience of SIDS.