James Ellsmoor | Underwhelming COP29 results expected – but progress made on sidelines for islands

Glancing at headlines over the past few weeks will tell you all you need to know about how the latest round of international climate negotiations fared in Baku, Azerbaijan. While advancements were made on certain fronts - including carbon markets - they have been overshadowed by the discrepancy between what the most climate-vulnerable nations, with little to no impact on global emissions, need to ensure their ongoing resilience and what major polluters and economies are willing to contribute financially.

Communities on the front lines came to Baku armed with research showing that a minimum US$1.3 trillion was needed annually to adapt to the worst impacts of climate change. They left Azerbaijan with a promise for minimum yearly investments from developed countries totalling US$300 billion. The debate has raged for the past three decades of climate conferences as to the level of ambition and seriousness put forward by developed countries. While the European Union’s climate chief, Wopke Hoekstra, lauded the agreement as a new era of climate action, metrics continue to show that we are behind on emissions and temperature goals set during the Paris Agreement.

However, not far from the plenary sessions where world leaders were speaking, in the Blue Zone, conversations between interdisciplinary experts and stakeholders from around the world led to incremental progress on important climate finance frameworks.

SUB-NATIONAL ISLAND JURISDICTIONS

Sub-National Island Jurisdictions, or SNIJs, are non-sovereign territories attached to larger powers such as Puerto Rico (United States), Bonaire (Netherlands), New Caledonia (France), Bermuda (United Kingdom), Greenland (Denmark), or Zanzibar (Tanzania), to name just a few. These states have varying degrees of autonomy and different relationships with their mainland authority, but all fall in a similar legal grey area when it comes to climate finance, whereby many are not eligible for international climate financing from funds such as the US$300 billion agreed to at COP29. The only potential financing pathways come from their overarching authority, which are often not fit for purpose, leaving these communities to face the consequences of climate change with very limited opportunities for adaptation or mitigation.

Illustrating these issues during one of Island Innovation’s side events on climate financing for SNIJs at the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) held in Antigua and Barbuda earlier this year, Guam’s Lieutenant Governor, Joshua Tenorio, noted that the US Department of Defense was responsible for the island’s energy transition due to the army’s policies aimed at increasing the resilience of military bases through renewable systems.

“The US was founded on the premise that it shouldn’t have colonies, and it doesn’t know how to deal with the five territories and number six, the District of Columbia,” Tenorio said. “I don’t think it’s a criticism of the moral values of the country - the point is the country is so big. Even for states to try and get attention for their issues is a major fight. For territories, without voting representation in the US Congress, only non-voting delegates in the US House, absent in the US Senate, we constantly have to try and get advocates within the US government.”

The complex multidimensional nature of these SNIJs is best highlighted by the response following the destruction caused by Hurricanes Dorian and Irma to the island of Sint Maarten. The Caribbean island divided between the two countries represents the only land border between the Netherlands and France. Despite their small size, Sint Maarten and Saint Martin have two entirely different sets of infrastructure policies, public services, and political setups, reflecting their split sovereignty. The disaster response for these SNIJs exposed governance, financing gaps, and inequity that islanders faced based solely on which side of the invisible border they were on.

The need for access to international funding pathways, increased self-determination on climate issues, and a better understanding of their needs by their overarching governing authority is clear. Additionally, when considering the ocean resources and outsized impact these territories can have on mainland issues such as national security, economic growth, biodiversity conservation, it further stresses the need for providing adequate opportunities for these communities to build a prosperous future for themselves. For example, the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are custodians of 94 per cent of the UK’s unique biodiversity and stewards of the fifth-largest marine estate globally while France has the world’s largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world thanks to its territories.

FINDING A COMMON VOICE

Back in Baku’s Olympic Stadium for COP29, the topic of climate funding for SNIJs was broached on Day One. Edison Rijna, special envoy for the BES islands for EU and UN and Economic Development with Latin America and Caribbean, who had also been present alongside Tenorio during the financing discussions held at SIDS4, outlined plans for SNIJs to work together and advocate for themselves with one voice.

“We are fortunate to witness a significant step forward, namely: the presentation of the first proposed funding solutions for SNIJs by a dedicated legal expert. This proposal, which explores pathways for financing climate adaptation and mitigation, is a welcome and necessary development for SNIJs everywhere,” Rijna shared, “It provides the framework for our islands to secure the resources needed to mitigate climate risks effectively, and I cannot stress enough how vital it is to support this initiative with unwavering commitment from all our islands. But to bring this framework to life, we need collective determination and collaboration. We must maintain pressure, keep advocating, and continue pushing — together, as a united front.”

The first step of this proposal would come in the form of a shared call to action from a coalition of SNIJs as they move towards getting added representation in international policymaking. While the broader results in Baku can leave a lot to be desired, there is progress being made to make climate financing more inclusive. By and large, work certainly remains to be done, but this is just one of several developments happening on the sidelines of the Blue Zone.

James Ellsmoor is CEO at Island Innovation. Send feedback to james@islandinnovation.co and columns@gleanerjm.com