Instrumental in forming the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) to fight for the 1.5°C temperature limit, and for a framework that could deliver it, the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), one of the Pacific countries devastated by the impacts of climate change, has once more raised its voice on the global stage.
The President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, has encouraged the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to take the bold path to deliver on the promises already made, and double-down on ambition for everyone’s safety and security, presently, and for generations to come.
“COP 30 finds us at a crossroads,” President Heine writes.
“One where we can chart a way forward grounded in science and in line with current realities or else hide ourselves away to await a more opportune geopolitical environment for bold action, while the impacts of climate change worsen across the world. Your leadership will be instrumental in determining the road we travel.”
President Heine makes the call in an Open Letter to President Lula on behalf of the HAC, published as world leaders gather in Brazil for the Belem Climate Summit.
The Summit precedes the 30th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), taking place from 10-21 November 2025 in Belem, Brazil.
COP30 is taking place after another year of record heat and extreme weather around the globe. At the same time, energy demand is rising and some of the world’s biggest economies are rapidly shifting their climate policies.
Pacific leaders, climate change negotiators and officials from Pacific countries have made the long journey to Belem to advocate for the survival of their communities, who have been unfairly placed at the forefront of climate change impacts.
Last Thursday and Friday, Pacific officials have been actively engaged in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Preparatory Meeting, facilitated by AOSIS, at the Hangar Convention Centre.
On the other side of Belem city, world leaders, including Prince William, have been engaged in the Belem Climate Summit.
In her letter, President Heine points out that the recent International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion reinforcing that states have a legal duty to adopt and maintain ambitious climate measures, is a ray of hope.
“Its affirmation of the IPCC’s reports as the best available science on the causes, nature and consequences of climate change and the basis for decision making under the UNFCCC, and that the 1.5°C threshold is the primary temperature limit to pursue, endorses the work of the High Ambition Coalition over the last decade and inspires us to reinvigorate our efforts to keep 1.5°C within reach,” she writes.
“Yet, the latest nationally determined contributions (NDCs) collectively leave us far off course from 1.5°C. We need the Brazilian spirit of mutirao to mobilize an every-country, all-of-society approach that delivers the extra emission reductions to get us on track.”
An NDC Response Plan, launched at COP, guided by your leadership and informed by parties, climate science, indigenous wisdom, the private sector, and all civil society actors, can be the compass that brings us back on course, the RMI President believes.
“For our response to meet the moment, it must include new collaborations and inspiring examples, technological and traditional solutions, and above all the financial support and capacity building that will enable governments to deliver on their NDCs and update them until they align with a 1.5°C future.
“Living this future involves every government following through on the promises we made to each other in Paris and at every COP since. We must implement all of the outcomes of the global stock take, including an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels in line with 1.5°C pathways in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
Climate finance remains a key consideration for the Pacific countries, and at COP30.
“We need to ensure that there will be enough money available, in the right form and flowing fast to the frontlines. The adaptation finance gap must be acknowledged, and concrete steps and political commitments made at this COP to start urgently addressing it,” President Heine continues.
“This needs to be part of a larger adaptation package at COP 30 to accelerate implementation and increase support, which reiterates the vital need to develop and implement National Adaptation Plans; responds to the urgent need for grant based and highly concessional finance accessed quickly and flexibly to fast-track adaptation planning and implementation; and includes a robust indicator set to assess the progress and gaps of the global goal on adaptation.”
On Loss and Damage, President Heine pointed to recent events in the Caribbean as a reminder of the peril vulnerable communities are in and the vast economic costs of irreversible damage caused by climate impacts.
“The long-awaited start of disbursement activities in the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage is very much welcomed. Now the Fund must be appropriately capitalized. We will only know the needs when we know the extent of loss and damage occurring, and this must be regularly assessed from now on.”
More than 40 world leaders, including some leaders from the Pacific, are attending the Belem Climate Summit. China, United States of America, India and Russia, are amongst the leaders not attending.
“Future generations will look back on this decade, either with admiration or disappointment,” President Heine concludes. “COP 30 marks the most challenging and perilous moment yet in the fight to tackle climate change. It truly is the COP of truth.”
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) formed the High Ambition Coalition in run-up negotiations at the UNFCCC to the Paris Agreement in 2015. The HAC helped to secure key elements of the deal, including the 1.5C temperature goal, the net zero global emissions pathway by the second half of the century, and a five-year cycle for updating mitigation contributions.
Brazilian President Lula has repeatedly referred to COP30 as the “COP of truth.”
The meeting opens proper on Monday.
