Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has reiterated the importance of the Paris Agreement and climate finance for developing countries to world leaders present at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, COP29.
Brown has called on world leaders to do the right thing by the Pacific countries, don’t make them jump hoops and wait.
He said climate finance is not just the catalyst for climate action but is an essential ingredient and developing countries need sufficient and reliable support to implement the Paris Agreement effectively.
He said that for Small Island Developing States, specific finance provisions within the Paris Agreement recognises the Pacific Islands unique vulnerabilities.
“I come from the Pacific. A part of the world that contributes 0.03 per cent of carbon emissions to the world.
“The Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius remains within our reach—but only if you act decisively- referring to the G20 countries that contribute 80 per cent of carbon emissions.”
He said many countries in the Pacific are doing their part in mitigation such as projects of 100 percent renewable energy, but the science was clear: the world is warming, and the transition away from fossil fuels is non-negotiable.
He said this challenge is beyond economics: “Climate change is not a distant threat; it is a present reality that we face every day in the Pacific. And now we see its impact in the developed countries with Spain being the latest victim just a couple of weeks ago.
“We don’t need to be enemies to each other – climate change is and will continue to be the biggest enemy to all of us. We need to work together.”
Looking into climate finance he called for minimum allocation floors on the New Collective Quantified Goal for SIDS (Small Islands Developing States), directly linked with the provision goal.
“This floor should be no less than 40 billion in grant-equivalent terms per year—a conservative estimate based on our pressing needs.
He said SIDS must have access to high levels of concessional finance, meaning grant funding for adaptation efforts, not loans, it means grant-based finance for loss and damage response.
Brown called on the world leaders: “Do the right thing by our countries, don’t make us jump hoops and then wait. Accelerating the financing support will bring us closer to the scaled-up finance and improved access envisioned by the Paris Agreement.
“While the Pacific faces the brunt of climate change through—sea-level rise, erosion of small islands, flooding, droughts, and extreme weather—inaction will lead to consequences felt globally, growing more severe with time. “
He said that these appeals have been voiced countless times, at previous COPs, but they are frustrated by inaction, unheard, and facing resistance to the necessary scale-up of climate finance. He added that Cook Islands was ready—again—to play its part.
This story was originally published at Cook Islands News on 15 November 2024, reposted via PACNEWS.
