Cook Islands Remarks at the SIDS4 Opening & First Plenary
Theme: Charting the course toward resilient prosperity
Honourable Prime Minister Mark Brown
12:10pm – 12:20pm-Monday 27 May 2024
Mr President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
Kia Orana and Warm Greetings from the Cook Islands.
At the outset, please allow me to congratulate the Government and the people of Antigua and Barbuda for the successful hosting of the 4th SIDS Conference.
I am honoured to make this intervention both as the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands and as the current Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum.
Our Pacific countries cover 20% of the world’s Ocean. We are the Blue Pacific Continent.
Last year in November, I hosted my fellow Pacific Leaders at our annual
Leaders meeting to discuss matters critical to our region, framed by our
2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific. We left the meeting sharing a deeper
appreciation and understanding of what it truly means to speak as a
region, unified in our voices, our choices, our Pacific Way.
Excellencies and Delegates,
Our gathering here today gives us the immense opportunity to join our
Pacific voice to that of all our SIDS brothers and sister across the globe.
Government of the Cook Islands
Despite facing disproportionate vulnerabilities, we must continue to lead
the way, trailblazing in areas where we can no longer wait for others to
take action: climate action, climate justice, oceans management, MVIs
and the urgency for greater equitable access to climate financing.
Excellencies and Delegates,
As proud stewards of a 2 million square kilometres of EEZ, the Cook
Islands have strived for sustainable management of our marine
resources through centuries. Like all Pacific peoples, we have an
imbedded culture of conservation and sustainable environmental
management of our marine resources, practices we have sustained
through generations.
We know that this approach is not unfamiliar to any of you in the room.
In fact, the Pacific region leads the way in the establishment and
management of Marine Protected Areas. Our regional management
framework on tuna fisheries ensures sustainability, better economic
returns and effective monitoring and surveillance to protect this
resource. Many of us have passed legislation to reduce single use plastics
in our countries – even though we did not put plastic in the ocean. We
have also created model regional laws that protect the wealth of pacific
genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.
Our Pacific Leaders recently endorsed the creation of a regional pacific
centre of Excellence and Deep Ocean Science, PCEDOS as we call it. This
collaborative centre will work with all interested stakeholders to further
leverage knowledge, innovation and empowerment. We recognise that
implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the sustainable management of
Government of the Cook Islands
our global commons cannot be done without strong scientific knowledge
of our ocean, in all its vastness.
Excellencies and Delegates,
Beyond our shared ties to our Oceans, other areas require our
collaborative and united approach.
As we continue to build from the SAMOA Pathway, we need to continue
to advocate for greater investments in our nations, increasing our
resilience in a world where we are paying for the actions of others or
rather lack of action of others.
The key to these efforts lies in finance – in wealth, and for many of us
here today, access to finance remains a critical barrier to our
sustainable development pursuits.
In November last year Pacific Leaders approved the operationalisation of
the Pacific Resilience Facility - a transformative regional financing
mechanism, created by the Pacific for the Pacific.
We are aiming for a starting target of $500M to address part of the
critical climate finance disaster risk resilience needs of the Pacific
through high impact projects being supported at the community level.
Initial seeding contributions by the US and China were boosted by Saudi
Arabia of $50M and Australia of $100M. We invite other countries to
consider supporting this innovative financing facility to help the Pacific
build its resilience.
Excellencies and Delegates,
Government of the Cook Islands
The total combined carbon emissions of SIDS represent less than 1% of
global emissions. If we SIDS reduced all of our emissions it would not
even shift the dial – it would in fact make NO impact on total carbon
reductions.
On the other hand, the G20 countries represent 80% of all carbon
emissions.
They in fact are the only ones that can effectively shift the dial on
reducing carbon. The most recent IPCC report on achieving 1.5% makes
for grim reading especially for SIDS countries.
Given the dismal emissions reductions by G20 countries to date, they
must shift the dial on their financial contributions. According to the
World Bank, the Pacific countries alone require $1B per year for the next
10 years to build resilience against the impacts of climate change.
This is a burden that we cannot and should not shoulder.
G20 countries must also shift the dial through their key positions on the
boards of MDBs – We must collectively change the rules on debt
management and debt restructuring, access to concessional finance
allowing for longer terms, lower interest, greater concessions, to
alleviate the burden unfairly keeping SIDS countries from prospering.
One natural disaster for SIDS can wipe out years of prosperity – we all
know this – we have all experienced this – and unfortunately, we
continue to experience it in an increasingly regular manner.
Government of the Cook Islands
Therefore, we cannot afford to waste any more time. There is no more
time for empty promises. The People and local communities of SIDS need
bold and determined actions for transformative meaningful change.
We must deliver.
Meitaki ma’ata.
{ENDS}
