Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta has called for COP31 to deliver on long-standing climate commitments, warning that vulnerable Pacific and small island states cannot continue to face rising climate risks without adequate finance and action.
Speaking at the Pacific Pre-COP31 Leaders Plenary in Denarau, Ramos-Horta said his visit to Tuvalu had brought the reality of climate change into sharp focus.
“To see firsthand the extraordinary vulnerability of these islands is deeply moving.
“Tuvalu is among the clearest warnings to humanity of what lies ahead if we fail to act,” he said.
Ramos-Horta said climate change was fundamentally an issue of justice, with countries that had contributed least to the crisis facing some of its most severe impacts.
“Those who have contributed the least cannot continue to bear the greatest burden,” he said.
He said the message from the Pacific to COP31 in Türkiye must be practical and focused on delivery.
Ramos-Horta said keeping the 1.5-degree Celsius target within reach must remain the priority, while climate finance commitments must translate into funding reaching vulnerable countries and communities.
“For SIDS and LDCs, the international climate finance system remains too slow, too complicated, too difficult to access,” he said.
He called for COP31 to advance a clear pathway for delivery of the new collective quantified climate finance goal, increase adaptation finance and provide additional support for Least Developed Countries.
“Finance must reach vulnerable countries and communities before climate shocks become climate catastrophes,” Ramos-Horta said.
He also called for loss and damage to be treated as an urgent priority, saying some climate impacts were already beyond the capacity of communities to adapt to.
“Adaptation is essential, but there are already impacts to which communities simply cannot adapt,” he said.
Ramos-Horta said loss and damage funds must have adequate and predictable resources and be capable of responding quickly when climate-related disasters strike.
He also backed Pacific efforts to protect the continuity of statehood, sovereignty and maritime rights as sea levels rise.
“A nation cannot disappear in international law just because the sea rises,” he said.
He said established maritime zones and rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea must be protected despite climate-related sea-level rise.
“We stand firmly with our Pacific brothers and sisters on this principle,” Ramos-Horta said.
He also called for oceans to be placed at the centre of global climate action, linking ocean warming, biodiversity loss and sea-level rise to food security, livelihoods, cultural identity and economic opportunities.
“Oceans must be at the centre of our climate response,” he said.
Ramos-Horta said the Pacific’s message to COP31 should be straightforward.
“Protect 1.5, deliver the finance that has been promised — remember it has been promised many times already — respond seriously to loss and damage.
“Protect the sovereignty and rights of nations threatened by rising seas and turn our declaration into implementation,” he said.
He said Timor-Leste stood with Pacific and other small island states in taking the message to COP31.
“Timor-Leste stands in solidarity with all our fellow small island states, with our Pacific family. We carry this message together to COP31,” he said.
