UN chief urges climate justice for Pacific nations beset by rising oceans

Speaking in Samoa, where he met residents uprooted from their homes by sea level rise and coastal erosion, Mr. Guterres said that Pacific islanders had refused to be victims of climate change. But their ambitious plans to resist this “existential threat for millions” had been put on hold, amid a lack of promised funding, he insisted.

“We are fighting hard for climate justice…[but] we are not seeing the money that is needed and that’s why we ask for the reform and the international financial institutions in order for the funding needs of countries, like Pacific countries, to be met,” the UN chief told journalists at UN House in Apia, the capital.

More than words

Positive gestures from wealthy nations towards developing countries have been insufficient to compensate for economic shocks from natural disasters caused by climate change, Mr. Guterres insisted, pointing to the Loss and Damage Fund, agreed in 2022 at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt.

Developed countries also pledged in 2021 to double climate adaptation funding from the $100 billion a year agreed in 2009, the Secretary-General said, as he noted that this potential game-changing income stream hadn’t garnered enough support either.

“We need all countries to honour their promises on climate finance and a strong finance outcome from this year’s COP where we will discuss the financial commitments after 2025,” he said.

Sea wall under siege

Speaking to reporters, the UN chief described how Samoans have repeatedly pushed back at climate shocks, including the deadly 2009 tsunami that left at least 192 dead.

“We have seen people that moved their houses inland. We have seen people that persisted coming back and rebuilding. We have seen an enormous determination of people to fight against, not only the impact of the tsunami, but the impacts of the rising sea levels and of the storms and the cyclones”, he said.

“I’ve seen a wall that is protecting a village from the sea; that wall in 20 years, because of the tsunami – because of the rising sea level, and because of the heavy storms – has already been built three times.”

Financial inequalities

Many developing countries like Samoa which are also on the frontlines of the climate crisis must rely on borrowing from international lenders at higher rates than the world’s poorest nations, which has effectively prevented them from accessing the funds they need to help themselves.

To address this historic structural inequality in international finance, the UN has worked with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on a new measurement of national income – the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) – so that they too can access the significant funding required for sustainable development.

“We ask the international community to act in a way that when international financial institutions deal with countries like Samoa, the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index is taken into account to allow for concessional funding to be granted for the projects that are necessary for this country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and protect its populations against climate change,” Mr. Guterres said.

Drawing up solutions

The Secretary-General also reiterated his wish for small island states like Samoa to have access to some $80 billion in development funding linked to Special Drawing Rights, which can be channeled by members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to multilateral development banks to be made available for borrowing.

New income streams like this are crucial for countries like Samoa that lost vital tourist income because of the COVID-19 pandemic and “have not received the support of the international community”, Mr. Guterres continued. “When we look at Samoa, we understand what that means and we never stop fighting to make sure that this is recognized by the international community.”