At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Steven Victor, Palau’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Environment, urgently appealed to global leaders to fulfill climate targets and provide necessary climate finance to the world’s most susceptible nations. Victor characterized this conference as the “COP of Truth” for small island states, reflecting the critical concerns voiced by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva regarding the urgent realities faced by vulnerable communities.
Victor emphasized the significance of the discussions taking place at COP30, noting that the stakes are particularly high for nations like Palau, whose very existence is threatened by climate change. He highlighted that his long journey from the Western to the Eastern Pacific underscored the importance of these negotiations, which could determine the futures of generations to come, ensuring that Palau remains above water and its natural resources are preserved for future inhabitants.
He expressed a dire warning about the impending risk of exceeding the 1.5°C increase in global temperatures, stating that small island nations are perilously close to overshooting this critical threshold due to the inadequate actions of developed countries. Victor stressed that the promises made in the Paris Agreement have largely gone unkept, exposing vulnerable nations to severe climate impacts, such as catastrophic storms and deteriorating coral reefs that are central to the ecological and economic stability of these island states.
Addressing the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), Victor underscored the importance of upholding the 1.5°C goal. He lamented the ongoing challenges faced by AOSIS in pushing for this limit within negotiating environments and questioned the willingness of various countries to adhere to their binding commitments that are imperative for global sustainability.
Victor also acknowledged the role of the Brazilian presidency in steering the conference and reaffirmed AOSIS’s dedication to achieving measurable outcomes guided by scientific evidence, as stipulated in the Mutirão Decision.
A major theme in his address was the pressing need for enhanced climate finance. Victor lamented that vulnerable nations have consistently been shortchanged regarding the promised US$100 billion climate finance goal, which has forced these countries to rely more heavily on their own resources for climate adaptation, exacerbating their economic challenges. He called for a substantial increase in public and grant-based financial resources that should escalate to at least US$120 billion per year by 2030, with developing nations needing around US$350 billion annually by 2035 for adaptation efforts.
Victor urged developed nations to honor their legal obligations under the Paris Agreement, emphasizing that broad discussions are insufficient; there is an urgent need for concrete action and commitments during COP30. He framed climate action as both a moral obligation and an existential necessity, calling for a unified global effort to respond decisively and collaboratively to the climate crisis for the sake of future generations. Through concerted action and commitment, there lies hope for a sustainable future, ensuring the preservation of vulnerable nations and their ecosystems.