The Solomon Islands Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Disaster Management, Trevor Mahaga, issued an urgent call for global action to address the escalating threat of sea level rise.
During the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Sea-Level Rise, Mahaga highlighted the severe impacts of rising seas on the Solomon Islands and the broader South West Pacific region, where sea level increases have exceeded global averages.
“The threats of sea level rise are not of the future alone. We are facing them now,” Mahaga said, emphasising that his nation has already lost inhabited islands to the encroaching waters.
“Recent data shows that the sea level rise of the last three decades for the South West Pacific exceeds the global mean sea level rise,” he stated.
“For Solomon Islands, sea level projections shows a rise of between 0.09 to 0.18 meters by 2030, and an increase of 0.65 to 1.22 by 2100, under a highest emission scenario.”
The implications of this trend, he said, extend far beyond the loss of land.
“The impact of sea level rise are multi-dimensional and have serious implications on our islands, economy, livelihoods and the continued existence of our people, culture and heritage,” Mahaga said.
He further stressed that entire communities are being displaced, creating new social and economic challenges, and raising significant concerns about national and regional security.
Mahaga highlighted the urgent need for major emitting nations to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the global temperature rise from exceeding 1.5°C.
He also called for a dramatic increase in climate finance, noting that the costs of adaptation for vulnerable countries like the Solomon Islands far exceed their national budgets.
“Climate finance must be mobilised at scale and with ease beyond current levels and modalities,” he stressed.
In a show of solidarity with other Pacific nations, Mahaga reiterated the Solomon Islands commitment to the Pacific leaders Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones, which ensures that maritime boundaries, once established and recognised under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, will remain unchanged despite climate change-related sea level rise.
As the Solomon Islands and other vulnerable nations grapple with the immediate and long-,term impacts of rising seas, Mahaga urged the international community to keep the issue of sea level rise at the forefront of global discussions.
“The issue of sea level rise must remain on the agenda for the General Assembly,” he stated, calling for sustained political will and decisive action to protect those most affected by climate change.
