BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 19. Samoa calls for increased climate financing for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), said Samoa’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, Trend reports.
Speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) at COP29, Samoa’s minister delivered a call for urgent and equitable climate action. Representing 39 small island nations and low-lying coastal states, Schuster underscored the existential threats posed by climate change to the world’s most vulnerable countries.
"Climate change is not a distant threat; it is here, with hotter summers, colder winters, and rising seas threatening our homes and livelihoods," Schuster stated, emphasizing the need for immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. He criticized the global investment in fossil fuel infrastructure while neglecting humanity’s survival against climate change.
Schuster highlighted the critical importance of ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement and stressed the need for deep emission cuts to build global resilience. He also reiterated the unique challenges faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including fragile economies, limited resources, and geographical remoteness, calling for these factors to be prioritized in the new climate finance goals.
AOSIS's key demand at COP29 is the inclusion of a minimum allocation floor of $39 billion annually for SIDS and $220 billion for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. Schuster criticized the slow progress in doubling adaptation finance, promised at COP26, and called for grant-based solutions to support vulnerable nations in implementing necessary adaptation measures.
"This must be the climate finance COP that delivers hope for the next decade," Schuster concluded, urging COP29 to fulfill the promises made under the Paris Agreement and prioritize the survival of the most at-risk nations.