In a meeting ahead of COP26, Pacific Island Leaders met with the president of COP26 to highlight the issues their countries and states face specifically in regards to climate change. These leaders noted that the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that they represent are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a fact illustrated by the pleas of Youth Leader Gladys Habu of the Solomon Islands. Habu spoke of Kale Island, the home of her grandparents- now one of several of the Solomon Islands fully submerged underwater. Habu noted three particular priorities for COP26 with regards to the SIDS:
- Increased representation of and by youth at climate events (and negotiations)
- Global participation in the Paris Agreement, especially within the next decade
- Increasing financial support to small countries to manage impacts of climate change
SIDS leaders especially emphasized Habu’s final point, asking for reduced overhead and bureaucracy, as well as a reduced proportion of loans, while increasing grants or other funds. Leaders also asked for increased focus on the effects of climate change on the ocean, noting the outsized impact the ocean has on SIDS culture, livelihoods, and food security. In closing the meeting, all participants noted the need for significant, ambitious, and unified action, especially by G20 nations, to combat climate change and help low-emission yet highly impacted states (such as the SIDS).
Dr. Mehraj Awal is a medical writer living in Massachusetts. Although he is professionally trained in medical sciences, the impact of climate change is undeniable, and he hopes to inform others as best possible.
