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Add to Preferred SourcesSmall island nations are “not sitting idly by” but are emerging as “frontrunners” in the fight against climate change according to Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, the UN High Representative for Small Island Developing States.
On September 27, they will be centre stage during the General Assembly’s big opening week, when countries will discuss progress made since the landmark SAMOA Pathway agreement was reached, five years ago.
The 38 countries designated by the United Nations as Small Island Developing States, or SIDS, are amongst the most vulnerable countries in the world. Situated in the Caribbean, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, they are bearing the brunt of an increasingly extreme and unpredictable global climate. As well as the environmental challenges, SIDS face a unique set of issues relating to their small size, remoteness, and exposure to external economic shocks.
Most island nations tend to confront similar constraints in their efforts to develop sustainably, such as a narrow resource base, small domestic markets and heavy dependence on a few external and sometimes remote markets. They also generally face high costs for food, which often has to be imported, as well as energy, infrastructure, transportation and communication. Those challenges are further complicated by the difficulties they face mobilizing development finance on affordable and appropriate terms.
How are SIDS being impacted now?
Island communities are on the frontlines of the climate emergency and often have little resilience to disasters. Earlier this month, the Bahamas, one of the wealthier SIDS, was devastated when Hurricane Dorian swept across parts of the Caribbean archipelago.
How does this concern the rest of the world…isn’t this a problem that SIDS need to work out?
The SIDS are the countries most affected by climate change but, given that they are generally producing little of the harmful greenhouse gases that are fueling climate change, they are also the countries least responsible for the problem. So, all nations, especially industrialized ones which have generated most of these harmful gases, have a moral responsibility to act.
So what solutions are being found?
The greatest challenge faced by Small Island Developing States is the fall-out from climate change, and they need to not only adapt to this new threat but also find ways to develop sustainably. In short, they need to build both economic and environmental resilience.
SIDS are not sitting idly by; many for instance are emerging as frontrunners in the pursuit of renewables-based energy systems building on abundant local and natural resources. While they recognize that they contribute little to greenhouse gas emissions, they recognize that they themselves can help set examples for the rest of the world.
Original source: UN News
Published on 26 September 2019