The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a significant boost in climate finance to support Pacific Island nations like Samoa, which face severe threats from climate change but struggle to secure the necessary funds for adaptation and resilience efforts.
“We need climate justice,” Secretary-General stressed. “Starting with major contributions to the new Loss and Damage fund and ensuring that every person is protected by lifesaving early warning systems by 2027.”
He emphasised that while the world has made commitments to address climate change, these promises must be backed by substantial financial support.
In Samoa, as in many other countries around the world, a lack of funds has delayed ambitious plans for climate action and sustainable development on hold.
The Secretary-General highlighted the urgent need to simplify access to concessional finance and to significantly increase the sums available.
“We need to reform the Multilateral Development Banks to massively increase their lending capacity and enable them to leverage far more private finance for development at affordable rates,” he stated.
The Secretary-General also highlighted the importance of addressing debt, which has become a major obstacle for many developing countries.
He pointed out that the recent approval of the multi-dimensional vulnerability index represents a significant step forward.
“Until now, a country like Samoa, which faces huge challenges because it’s a middle-income country, would not have been able to receive any form of concessional funding or debt relief. We now ask the international community to ensure that this index is taken into account so that countries like Samoa can access the funding they need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and protect their populations against climate change,” he explained.
“We need all countries to honour their promises on climate finance, and a strong finance outcome from this year’s COP where we will discuss the financial commitments after 2025.”
During a press briefing in Samoa, the Secretary-General was asked how the UN could help Pacific nations like Samoa in their fight against climate change.
“First of all, by raising my voice,” he responded. “The UN has been consistently advocating that all companies align their policies and their nationally determined contributions to 1.5 degrees, and that the big polluters – the G20 countries – drastically reduce their emissions in order to make sure that we do not go on with the present situation that is a situation of suicide for humankind.”
He also reiterated the UN’s commitment to fighting for climate justice.
“We have seen the establishment of the new Loss and Damage Fund and commitments to double adaptation funding, but we are not yet seeing the money that is needed. That’s why we are pushing for reforms in international financial institutions to ensure that the funding needs of countries like Pacific countries are met.
“We are also working closely with all small island developing states in order to make sure that even if they are middle-income countries, their vulnerabilities are recognised in the way they are treated by the international financial institutions,” he said.
Addressing concerns about the equitable distribution of climate finance, the Secretary-General acknowledged that while the UN does not control the distribution of funds, it is advocating for a more just approach.
“We are strongly advocating for countries like small island developing states to have access to concessional funding, debt relief, and benefit from the redistribution of special drawing rights. These mechanisms are essential to improving the financial situation of these vulnerable nations,” he said.
Guterres also expressed concern for countries whose economies were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those reliant on tourism.
“I’m particularly worried about countries that lost their tourism industry to a large extent and are struggling to recover from those impacts without the support of the international community,” he said.
“When we look at Samoa, we understand what that means, and we never stop fighting to make sure that this is recognised by the international community,” he said.
