The voice of the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), a nation of coral atolls only two metres above sea level at its highest point, has reverberated at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku Azerbaijan.
The President of Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, called for a shift in ambition on climate finance to address the cost of the climate crisis, threatening lives in her beloved country.
“With the explosive increase in the cost of the climate crisis, it is obvious to everyone that the system isn’t working. We can no longer afford to be unrealistic and unresponsive about the costs of the crisis – which we all know are in the trillions of dollars per year,” she said.
“Anyone who is here to fight over who pays for just a small share of those needs, rather than engage in a collective effort to find the trillions, is no friend to islands like mine. Nor can we afford empty promises. Those that have benefitted from extraction have an obligation to provide the climate finance that is desperately and urgently needed.”
President Hilda Heine was speaking during the first part of the high-level segment of COP29 in Baku on Tuesday, shortly after UN Secretary-General, António Guterres had taken the same stage and called for immediate steps to cut emissions, safeguard people from climate chaos, and “tear down the walls to climate finance.” He noted that 2024 is almost certain to be the hottest year ever recorded.
“The sound you hear is the ticking clock. We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. And time is not on our side,” said Guterres.
Heine echoed the call, reminding that the Marshallese people are navigators and as such, “it is in our blood to know when a tide is turning.”
“On climate, the tide is turning today,” she told world leaders at COP29. “It is no longer a question of whether the energy transition will occur, but how. Will it be fair and inclusive? Will it be fast enough? Will those that defy our agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, and go home to pump more oil, extract more gas, and mine more coal be held to account?
“Time will judge those that fail to make the transition. Some may fail because of denial and delusion – the misplaced idea that their country, somehow, will be immune. The fallacy that their short-term interests are worth the destruction on their doorstep, and that they will escape without blame. Others risk falling behind because they lack the resources to make the transition happen.”
COP29 started with the opening plenary on Monday, only to be abruptly suspended to allow for additional consultations on the meeting agendas. Resumption of the plenary was repeatedly delayed, leaving delegates idle for most of the day.
President Heine called for a common commitment to solve the greatest challenge of our time.
“We can no longer afford to base our hope on an international financial architecture that holds us in the past. That perpetuates inequality. There is no shortage of proposals for how to reform these institutions. What has been missing is the willingness to make it happen.”
For RMI and Pacific countries, one of the biggest issues at COP29 is the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG).
“We need a new collective quantified goal that sets us on a path to adapt and protect our communities, drive down our emissions, and respond to the ever-increasing loss and damage,” said President Heine. “That starts with making it crystal clear what climate finance is not: it is not market rate loans, and it is definitely not finance that funds fossil fuel production. We must also turn the commitment to specific protections for small island developing states into reality and ensure that there is a minimum floor of finance that flows to our islands.”
It’s estimated that one-third of Marshallese have left to seek jobs and escape climate impacts, not only sea level rise but increased droughts, heatwaves and saltwater intrusion in the past five years, according to research.
But the Government and the people of RMI are not just waiting for help. The President highlighted her country’s National Adaptation Plan, setting out a pathway for RMI to become resilient in the face of the climate crisis. She also announced that her country will soon submit a new, enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
“Let me be clear: we have only received half of the finance we need to deliver our last NDC. But we will develop and submit a new one because we know that this system only works when everyone continues to strive and plays their part. But those parts are not all equal. Our contribution to global emissions is tiny,” she pointed out.
“Major emitters, members of the G20, if we can do it, so can you. You can and must submit 1.5-C aligned NDCs, that set absolute, economy-wide reduction targets, and that cover all greenhouse gasses, and categories. The urgency of these commitments, and the urgency to act on them before 2030, is paramount. The repercussions of low ambition and inaction will only get worse.
“We will be watching for 1.5 green-washing. You can and must spell out to the rest of the world, whose safety relies on your action, how you will deliver the energy goals set in Dubai last year.”
Science confirms the lived reality of climate change for the Marshall Islands. The projected one-metre sea level rise in the coming decades would permanently flood 40 per cent of buildings in Majuro and see some islands disappear beneath the water, according to a 2021 World Bank study.
“It is time to fortify faith and trust in this process that we have created together to solve the climate crisis. In our Marshallese culture and traditions, we have a saying “Wa Kuk Wa Jimor”, which literally means we are all on the same canoe, and that we must all work together if we are to reach our destination. Our world demands that we steer our canoe of humanity to reach a future that is safe and secure for generations to come.”
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is taking place from 11-22 November 2024 in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan.
It is being attended by Pacific leaders and their delegations, who are advocating for the survival of Pacific communities who continue to be at the forefront of climate change impacts.
