Surangel S. Whipps Jr., President of Palau, said the United Nations was built for all nations, large and small alike.  The world is at war as defence spending approaches an all-time high of $3 trillion annually.  Yet small island developing States like Palau are also at war.  “Our shores are being invaded by seawater.  Our homes are being blown away by storms.  Our roads are being washed away by torrential rain.  Our reefs are overheating.  Our fish are disappearing.  And our land is on fire,” he said.  “This is our daily battle.”  Before the thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Belem, new Nationally Determined Contributions aligned with a 1.5C degree trajectory must be submitted, particularly from major emitters.

Applauding Australia’s leadership in setting clear strategies to meet its net-zero emissions pathway by 2050 and supporting the Pacific Island countries in accelerating the energy transition, he said “ambition without implementation is an empty promise.”  Small island developing States also depend on predictable and adequate climate finance that should not create new debt and free the countries to implement their Nationally Determined Contributions and address loss and damage.  “We need investment to combat our greatest threat,” he said.  Urging world leaders to see what the Pacific is facing, he said COP31 should be a Pacific COP hosted by Australia and shaped in partnership with the Pacific islands.

Turning to the safety of the world’s oceans, he said deep-sea mining has been incorrectly promoted as a silver-bullet for the climate crisis.  “If we rush forward without understanding the consequences, we risk inflicting irreparable harm,” he said.  “The loss of biodiversity, the release of carbon, damage to the water column, and the destruction of fisheries that sustain our people is unfathomable,” he said. At the third United Nations Ocean Conference in June, 38 countries, including Palau, came together to support a moratorium.  “Our message is clear:  we must let science guide us before we exploit the deep sea,” he added.

Palau was the first State to ratify the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, which presents an unprecedented opportunity to design new ocean governance institutions in which small island developing States have a voice from the start.  “We are big ocean States,” he said, calling for a seat for a small island developing State on the Agreement’s government structure.  Emphasising these countries’ need for financing, he called for the immediate integration of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) into the policies and frameworks of international financial institutions, multilateral development banks and international organizations.  “It is time we move the MVI from theory to practice,” he added.