The leaders, separated by oceans, jointly called on the international community to prioritize urgent action and financial support to combat the climate crisis, stressing that their countries are targeted by the emergency and are already feeling its effects.
As small island states continue to fight for their survival, their collective message to the world on Wednesday was clear: the time for action is now and the global community must stand united.
We understand what it means to be vulnerable
Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles – off the African coast, in the Indian Ocean – stressed that climate change “remains the greatest challenge facing humanity” and that failing to address its impacts will have devastating consequences for current and future generations.
“As a small island nation, Seychelles understands what it means to be vulnerable. We are on the frontline of the climate crisis,” he said.
It is an irreversible threat to people, economy and way of life.
“Rising sea levels, extreme weather events and the degradation of our oceans are stark reminders of the urgent need for global action on climate change,” he added.
President Ramkalawan called for decisive action, making it clear: “Words are nothing without actions.”
When compared to global military spending, which reached $2.5 trillion last year, $100 billion – the highest estimates for loss and damage – seems “modest and insignificant.”
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No one is immune
Off the Atlantic coast of Africa, President of Cape Verde, José Maria Pereira Nevesstressed that while small island developing states are the first to be hit by climate change, its impacts extend deep into the interior.
“No one is immune to this coming catastrophe,” he said, urging immediate attention to rising sea levels.
The challenge is multidimensional and extends far beyond the populations of islands and coastal areas. It affects all continents and regions, he added. He welcomed the high-level meeting on addressing the existential threats posed by rising sea levels, held earlier in the day.
He also pointed to the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable countries, particularly small islands. He urged stronger commitments from high-emitting countries and rapid implementation of climate policies and financing mechanisms.
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Triple Planetary Crisis
Across the Atlantic, in the Caribbean Sea, the climate crisis is still a shared struggle.
Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona, President of the Dominican Republic, emphasized the “triple planetary crisis” – three major, interlinked challenges facing humanity: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
He stressed his country’s commitment to helping set up the Loss and Damage Fund and achieving the 30×30 target in protecting our maritime territory.
The initiative aims to protect 30 percent of the world’s land, inland waters and oceans by 2030.
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‘Free yourself from the pattern of empty promises’
The next speaker from the group was: Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyanawhich, despite its location on the mainland, has a number of vulnerabilities as a small island.
He said that of the myriad challenges facing the world, “climate change threatens our very existence,” while underlining the need to deliver on commitments already made.
“Every year we make the annual pilgrimage to the COP, filled with hope for tangible results,” he noted, referring to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN Climate Convention).
“And every year we are treated to renewed, unfulfilled promises. This cycle of hope followed by disappointment cannot continue if the Sustainable Development Goals “(SDGs) must be achieved,” he lamented.
“We must break away from this pattern of empty promises. We must unequivocally and immediately fulfill all promises for the sake of our planet and the future of all its inhabitants,” he stressed.
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Climate change is not a distant or abstract problem
Moving north to Dominicanestled in the windward islands of the Caribbean Sea, Chairwoman Sylvanie Burton also stressed the “daily reality” of climate change her country faces.
“We have said it time and time again. We see it so vividly, year after year, that our communities are on the front lines, facing more intense hurricanes, devastating floods and prolonged droughts,” she said.
She recalled the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Erika in 2015, which wiped out 96 percent of Dominica’s gross domestic product (GDP), followed by Hurricane Maria in 2017, which destroyed more than 225 percent of GDP, “in a matter of hours.”
“Just a few hours… That’s why we watched with heavy hearts this year as Hurricane Beryl tore through the island nations of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados and Jamaica,” she noted.
He stresses that such tragedies underscore that “the time for rhetoric is long over.”
“Business as usual is simply not enough. We need urgent, bold and decisive action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as clearly required by science,” she said, calling for drastic cuts in emissions, meeting financial commitments and building resilience, especially in regions most at risk.
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‘We will not go to our watery grave in silence’
On the other side of the world, in the Pacific Ocean, President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands reiterated the urgency, stressing that rising sea levels are already destroying her country’s coastline.
“Sea levels have risen and we are too late to stop them from eating away at our coasts. But we must also be clear: we will not be wiped off the map, nor will we go quietly to our watery grave,” she declared.
She stressed that world leaders must do everything they can to prevent the melting of the cryosphere – the frozen parts of the Earth, on land and in the oceans.
Referring to the new Climate Action Plans (NDCs), which are due to be presented by all countries in February next year, she urged governments to show ambition and cooperation.
“We all agreed last year,” said President Heine, to scale up renewables and energy efficiency, accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and end fossil fuel subsidies.
“Despite this, we have seen some of the richest countries in the world break their promises as they double down on fossil fuels. This failure of leadership must stop – no new coal mines, no new gas fields, no new oil wells,” she stressed.