Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 As we continue to take stock of #COP29, one thing is clear – if we do not want to expedite our own extinction, we MUST put aside petty geopolitics. The world’s most vulnerable cannot be held hostage by bigger countries. Inclusivity and respect for our voices at the table are paramount at #COP30. We MUST get serious about raising collective ambition, drastically cutting ambitions, and advancing action on #Mitigation. On climate finance, the lack of ambition from developed countries has further eroded the faith of the developing world. The celebration of this very basic goal adds insult to our injury. In this BBC article, our lead #ClimateFinance negotiator for Small Island Developing States Michai Robertson relays the harrowing fight to enhance climate finance in the hope of keeping the global goal of keeping 1.5C alive. • "The size of the damage to our economies from climate change outweighs any sort of per capita calculation of how much money we're getting,". Hurricane Maria wiped out over 200% of Dominica’s GDP in 2017. You cannot say that for many other developing countries. • AOSIS laments the expansion of the contributor base for the NCQG. This opens the door for chaos as it relies on elements outside of our process. At the end of the day, banks’ focus is on their own credit rating, not the global good. We must now be vigilant to ensure the utmost transparency and that no “creative accounting” takes place. Climate finance must only be counted towards actual climate action. • The difficulty for SIDS and LDCs to access basic financing needed to adapt and address loss and damage must be urgently addressed. • The COP process is important to small island developing states because it is the only forum globally where our voice matters. We must ensure smaller countries are empowered, not held hostage by the process. • "The $300bn goal is not sufficient.” This is not enough to hold on to the 1.5C goal. We now focus on the work to increase the ambition for more finance in years to come. We are grateful for the invaluable partnership with the LDCs group that has been strengthened this year. As we look towards COP30, it must be clear that SIDS and LDCs were never beggars hoping for a handout. We are an incredibly resilient force to be reckoned with, and we will fight to ensure promises are kept and justice is achieved. We are determined to turn our disappointment into energy that will drive unparalleled ambition and action ahead of COP30. This will hinge on ensuring the enhancement of Nationally Determined Contributions. We urge countries to put aside climate protectionism. If COP30 is not a turning point for global cooperation, the most powerful will be reviled by future generations for their failure to seize this critical opportunity to turn the tide. https://lnkd.in/ddfiB-X9

To all our hardworking #SIDS negotiators and @AOSISChair’s team at #COP29, on behalf of the people of small island developing states - THANK YOU. Thank you to the brilliant team of people who left their homes for weeks to work relentlessly for their regions. Thank you for all of the sleepless nights and for your determination to raise your voices for many others who have lost, and those who stand to lose everything to worsening climate impacts. We know that the outcomes from COP29 are less than ideal. In multilateralism, where all countries have a seat at the same table, all parties rarely get exactly what they want. What we must focus on now is that amidst a tough geopolitical landscape, we have tripled the previous #climatefinance goal. We now get to the work of ensuring SIDS’ access is enhanced and that this increased finance is effectively utilized to implement the #climateaction our vulnerable communities urgently need. We have come this far. With the support of our people, we will build on the work of Baku. We press on! 🙌🏽

"We had more hope that the process would protect the interests of the most vulnerable and those with the least capacity. The urgency for taking climate action to address the ever-worsening impacts of climate change remains. The level of ambition for taking climate action needs to be much, much higher. And it is our great hope that the additional finance administered as a result of the new goal will help get us there." Read AOSIS' Statement at the Closing Plenary of COP29: https://lnkd.in/dFQn7TaS

WE ARE STILL HERE. But for talks to be productive, they must be INCLUSIVE. The voices of the most vulnerable cannot be ignored. Small Island Developing States and the Least Developed Countries remain committed to securing a #COP29 deal that will not plunge our world into further peril. FULL STATEMENT: https://lnkd.in/dydcPUNG

AOSIS REACTION TO COP29 DRAFT NCQG TEXT On what was meant to be the final day of #COP29, small island developing states find themselves again having to fight down to the wire for an agreement that will truly drive action to hold the 1.5C limit, and advance a historic new climate finance goal that finally protects the most vulnerable. On the #NCQG draft text: ❌ The proposed $250 billion a year by 2035 is no floor, but a cap that will severely stagnate climate action efforts. ❌ It is an investment goal that stands at a fraction of the at least $1.3 trillion that is needed to effectively protect our world from the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. ❌It does not raise the bar from the previous ineffective $100 billion goal. ❌The text ignores minimum allocation floors for SIDS and LDCs, of which we requested at least $39 billion for SIDS and at least $220 billion for LDCs. The final text must render the protection that is promised to us under the Paris Agreement. This ask is not a threat. It is just a matter of justice. READ FULL STATEMENT HERE: https://lnkd.in/d9Hb9RgY

In these waning moments of #COP29, AOSIS exerted another major push in arguing its case for the strongest possible outcome from their negotiations in Baku, Azerbaijan. UN Secretary General António Guterres offered his guidance and encouragement to a packed room of AOSIS Ministers and negotiators during a meeting Thursday afternoon, reminding them that they represented a powerful negotiating force in world affairs. That meeting was immediately followed by consultations with the COP29 Deputy Lead Negotiator Samir Bejanov, attended by a formidable team of Ministers and Experts determined to press home the case that SIDS require a comprehensive and fully funded package to respond to the surging tide of the climate crisis. Friday is the final day of COP29 and it now remains to be seen if the response from global powers to the crisis facing SIDS will be substantial. #StandUPforSIDS

AOSIS Chair, Minister Cedric Schuster is delivering a forceful message that the core principles of the Paris Agreement must not be put at risk. COP29 is due to come to an official end tomorrow and our AOSIS Chair warns that the global climate summit must transform rhetoric into real action for island nations on the frontlines of the climate crisis. “Implementing all aspects of the Paris Agreement requires the sense of urgency that the global climate crisis demands,” he stressed. “We cannot afford to undermine the progress and hard-won balance achieved less than a year ago in Dubai,” Schuster declared in a special Plenary convened by the COP presidency this morning on the eve of the final day of COP29. “We appreciate that the contours of the package are now on the table but we believe that we have some way to go before we achieve the balance and ambition that AOSIS needs to see coming out of Baku,” he expressed. Schuster sited areas like Mitigation, the NCQG, the Global Stocktake for their shortcomings in delivering on the type of ambition that AOSIS countries need to pull them from the brink of a worsening crisis. “We appreciate that many of us have our minds focused on the finance outcomes of this text, but we must reiterate the need for balance in the package of decisions we agree on here in Baku,” he pointed out. Please go to the following link to access full statement: https://lnkd.in/drP_9Vhs

A new set of warriors are now ready to help defend their islands on the frontlines of the climate crisis, thanks to our annual AOSIS Fellowship programme which graduated its latest batch of negotiators on Wednesday, right here at COP29 Azerbaijan. They are the next generation of climate champions, some of our brightest minds, who have spent a year at their Missions to the United Nations, navigating the high-level challenges that our islands face as we continue to fight for survival. We will need their passion and intellect to continue the work started decades ago. We must single out the Italian government for being unfailing in its support of the programme and for consistently investing in the human capacity of our islands. The torch will someday have to be passed and we are proud and confident that our AOSIS Fellows, having witnessed what it takes over these past few days at COP, are truly inspired to continue the fight.  Congratulations Fellows! Well done!

"Climate talks related to the #NCQG have not been as expected. Instead, there is increased discussion on creative accounting, which is problematic for #SIDS. We need access to climate financing to keep 1.5 Alive." SIDS need substantial climate finance to fight the #climatecrisis - not *creative accounting*❗ As talks crescendo at #COP29, #AOSIS Climate Finance Negotiator, Michai Robertson delivers a critical update on the state of NCQG negotiations. #StandUpForSIDS

COP29 Azerbaijan ends on Friday and we are still some ways away from leaving Azerbaijan with the strong and positive outcomes in all the major areas where small islands urgently need strong and unreserved outcomes for our climate impacted nations. Not only is greater progress urgently needed in the area of Finance, but our negotiators are calling for accelerated action to secure strong outcomes to meet our needs in areas such as: 🌍 Mitigation 🌊 Adaptation 💥 Loss and Damage 🔍 Transparency 🌊 Oceans ⚖️ Just Transition 📊 Markets 🔬 Science 🌱 Capacity Building 📝 Response Measures 👥 Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platforms 🖥️ Technology 🌐 Global Stocktake We are grateful for the support of our Ministers who traveled to Azerbaijan to drive the political will needed in the process. Their support is integral to securing the support we need from all Parties. Our goal is clear and we are unyielding in ensuring that we achieve it. If our islands are to survive the climate crisis, a fully funded package of solutions is the most viable pathway to saving lives and the livelihoods of our people. #StandUPforSIDS #COP29 #ClimateChange #Finance #ClimateAction #Sustainability #Islands #Future #Environment #UnitedNations