Opinion by Palau President, Surangel Whipps Jr
A week into Cop29 negotiations, we’re not moving fast enough – or anywhere for that matter – on some key issues.
Climate finance, or more specifically the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) to replace the current US$100bn a year goal, and the work to operationalise the loss and damage fund, are key expected outcomes here in Baku.
The multilateral process is important. However, as a citizen of a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), and the president of Palau, the pace with which these negotiations are moving can sometimes feel agonisingly frustrating.
The importance of these issues to Pacific countries cannot be understated. Around the world, conversations on global security often revolve around invasions, acts of terrorism and threats to peace. For us, the climate crisis is our invasion. It’s a relentless, unyielding force that attacks our food security, our economy, our culture and our very existence.
We want to access sufficient, predictable, grants-based climate finance to address our climate change needs and priorities. These climate finance mechanisms should be scalable, contextual, flexible and predictable.
The reality is that we don’t have time. We are battling an enemy that strikes hardest at those who have contributed the least to global warming, marine pollution and environmental degradation.
In Palau, the sea that once brought life and abundance now creeps closer each day, reclaiming coastlines, submerging taro farms and jeopardising ways of life that we have practised for a millennium. Like many SIDS, Palau stands on the frontline of the climate crisis, grappling with rising temperatures, dwindling marine life and an uncertain future.
Palau, along with all SIDS, has long been recognised by the international community, long before Paris 2015, as a “special case” or a group whose unique needs and concerns must be addressed. Though we are among the least responsible for climate change, we suffer the most from its immediate effects.
This is what makes SIDS a special case requiring the help and attention of the international community to limit greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.
The Paris agreement, signed in 2015, formally acknowledges these special circumstances, pledging to keep global warming “well below 2C” and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C. Science tells us that exceeding this 1.5C threshold would mean catastrophic consequences for SIDS – a future that we in the Pacific cannot imagine.
This is why, at Cop29 in Azerbaijan, Palau and other Pacific SIDS will continue to amplify our One Pacific Voice, demanding the respect and support that the climate change convention and the Paris agreement promised. As incoming chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), Palau will stand firm against any efforts to dilute the recognition of our special circumstances.
Cop29 is not just another meeting. It’s a vital opportunity for meaningful dialogue and collaboration that leads to action-real, measurable support for SIDS. Our fight against the climate crisis is a call for collective action, a plea for the world to stand together. We ask that our global community upholds the commitments made to SIDS, recognises our unique vulnerabilities and helps us forge a path to a sustainable future.
The time for decisive action is now.
Surangel Whipps Jr is the president of the republic of Palau. He is one of the Pacific leaders attending Cop29
