As leaders and representatives of our countries, our role in Baku is to speak up for what our citizens and communities are experiencing.
This was the message shared by Assistant Minister for Women, Children, and Social Protection, Hon. Sashi Kiran, at a University of Cambridge and Commonwealth side event titled ‘Their Future, Our Action’ during COP29 in Baku this week.
“Pacific island communities feel that the world is indifferent to their plight. Many feel cheated by powerful and rich countries that have caused the climate crisis and seemingly are walking away from being a part of the solution. Many feel a sense of loss of trust.”
Assistant Minister Kiran pointed out that when Pacific leaders return from Baku, they need to tell over 2,000 communities, whose villages are directly threatened by rising sea levels, that funding for necessary sea walls will be available in the next 3 years, not 10.
“We need to be able to tell our parents that their children will be safe when they go to school because school buildings can withstand sudden floods and stronger winds. We simply cannot do so today.
She emphasised that there needs to be a change in climate finance at Baku.
“We too—leaders and representatives of Government—should be able to give comfort to our children, our elderly, and our communities that their Government’s have them covered whatever the climate challenges will be.”
She called for more cooperation to achieve practical and achievable results in climate finance.
Assistant Minister Kiran also praised the Commonwealth Secretariat and the University of Cambridge for developing an excellent initiative, which Fiji fully supports. This research collaboration between Cambridge and the Commonwealth helps small states work together to survive, adapt, and thrive despite the worsening climate crisis.
The COMPASS tool, created through this partnership, is an important resource in overcoming the challenges to accessing climate finance.
