Among the 198 countries represented at the climate summit in Dubai are dozens of countries that consist entirely of islands. Rising sea levels and extreme weather threaten their survival. “We hope for quick climate action, our survival depends on it.”
Two years ago, the foreign minister of Tuvalu caused a sensation by giving a speech during the climate summit in Glasgow while standing up to his knees in the sea. “We cannot wait for speeches while the sea around us is constantly rising,” was his message.
This message has been conveyed for years by AOSIS, an alliance of small island states that work together during UN summits. Island groups such as Tuvalu, Samoa and Fiji are consistently among the countries that support the most ambitious climate plans on the world stage.
They are also at the forefront when it comes to setting up a climate damage fund. Last week it was announced in Dubai that after many years of discussions, such a fund will finally be established to support countries that have suffered damage from climate disasters.
Seve Paeniu, the Tuvaluan Minister of Finance, explains in Dubai why this is necessary. “The situation in my country is terrible, catastrophic. As we sit here, my land is being eaten away. The rising sea is submerging my own islands. The taro plantations and the crops we depend on are being destroyed by the infiltration of seawater into the ground.”
Tuvalu, a group of islands halfway between Australia and Hawaii, is at most a few meters above sea level. “We have nowhere to go,” Paeniu says. It was recently announced that the eleven thousand inhabitants of the islands can receive ‘climate asylum’ in Australia – little consolation for people who see their country and culture disappearing.
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Tuvaluan minister addresses climate summit from sea
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‘Must remain optimistic’
Samoa, another Polynesian archipelago, brought a group of young activists to this year’s climate summit. One of them, Marinda Leiataua, was nine years old when Cyclone Evan made landfall on Samoa in 2012.
The storm was accompanied by wind gusts of more than 200 kilometers per hour. “We had to flee to another house with objects flying, with my three-month-old nephew in our arms,” she said. “That ignited the fire in me to do something about this.”
As the Earth and oceans continue to warm, such storms will only become stronger. “Our chance of survival depends on adhering to 1.5 degrees,” Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, Samoa’s environment minister, told NU.nl.
He finds it frustrating that climate summits have been organized for 28 years now, while emissions are still rising. “The longer the discussions go on, the more difficult our daily reality becomes. But even though it is difficult, we must remain optimistic and continue to call on everyone to join us. Because if we do not achieve the climate goals (2015 Paris Agreement, ed.), the impact on small island groups like Samoa is catastrophic.”
Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, Environment Minister of Samoa, at the climate summit in Dubai. Photo: IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis
Diesel or solar energy
In Dubai, several island states talk about their plans to switch to renewable energy themselves. But despite their small population and limited demand for electricity, this is difficult. “It is still easier to get money for diesel generators than for solar or wind energy,” said Diann Black-Layne, climate ambassador for Antigua and Barbuda.
Development banks and other financial institutions must ensure that sustainable energy projects get off the ground, the islands believe. For example, by making money available on favorable terms, or by hedging the risk of investments.
One of the countries calling for this is Saint Kitts and Nevis. This archipelago is located directly next to St. Eustatius, a special municipality of the Netherlands. Together with Bonaire and Saba, St. Eustatius can count on intensive EU support in the coming years to become energy neutral by 2030, it was announced this week known.
But for independent Saint Kitts and Nevis, such support is harder to come by. This must change, says Energy Minister Konris Maynard. “To survive, we do not ask for sympathy, but for cooperation.”
Jeroen Kraan is a climate reporter
Jeroen writes a lot about (international) climate policy. From Dubai he reports on the COP28 climate summit for NU.nl.
2023-12-08 04:06:00
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