The Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), held every ten years since 1994, kicked off this week in St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda with a strong message: that major changes in international finance are needed to achieve a to create a level playing field for sustainable development in the world’s island nations, and that larger countries and industries bear responsibility for the impacts of climate change, and do more to fulfill their commitments to mitigating it.
“We recognize SIDS’s need for access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, especially renewable energy. SIDS face significant barriers related to access to financing, capital costs, market readiness and upskilling and reskilling of the workforce needed for just, inclusive and resilient energy transitions.”
That’s what the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (ABAS) states, and after the first day of the SIDS conference at the American University of Antigua in St. Johns this week, it’s clear that access to finance will be top of the agenda . agenda during the four-day event.
Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Chair of the SIDS Conference, noted the continued risks of extreme weather and other impacts of climate change, and the unique vulnerability of small island states to them.
Browne outlined how SIDS’ economic development has been repeatedly hampered by climate change, Covid-19, global financial crises and other problems not of the islands’ own making. He boldly stated that large emitters bear responsibility for these consequences and are obliged to provide compensation. He called on the Global North to meet its commitments and make at least $100 billion in climate finance available to SIDS and other developing economies.
Turning to energy in particular, Browne stated that it is “high time to end all fossil fuel subsidies and accelerate the transition to renewables,” adding that oil companies and other major polluters must play a role in providing the required financing.
Fairer financing
Echoing Browne, Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, spoke of the need for better access to financing and a level playing field for SIDS.
“Finance is the fuel that makes sustainable development possible,” he told the audience. “We need a financial system that puts the interests of developing countries first and acts as a global safety net.”
Speaking to journalists later in the day, Paul Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs of host country Antigua and Barbuda, estimated that rich countries have access to financing at interest rates of 2% to 3%. while developing economies often have to pay more than 10%, which he described as ‘fundamentally unjust’.
Speakers throughout the day further noted that many small island states have been forced to take on enormous debt to recover from natural disasters to which they are particularly vulnerable, and that the cost of servicing these debts limits financing for sustainable development and resilience, making them remain still. vulnerable to the increasing risk of natural disasters.
Space for solar energy
It was a day of high-level discussion and international politics. And access to financing for SIDS will be the main topic at the conference. However, it is also clear that solar and renewable energy play a key role here, as part of what is financed. Gianni Chianetta, chairman of the Greening the Islands foundation, said this pv magazine that the SIDS foundation sees SIDS as potential world leaders in the field of renewable energy, and wants to contribute to the pursuit of 100% renewable energy on small islands.
And this again comes down to funding, and Greening the Islands is now focused on creating case studies, starting with projects on the Mauritian island of Rodrigues and Curaçao in the Caribbean and later expanding to other islands – to engage regional leaders and global to help convince investors of the value of clean energy and the viability of 100% renewable energy systems.
Greening the islands will also focus on cooperation between countries, with future plans to even explore the possibilities of interconnection via submarine cables, again with the aim of creating demand on a scale that could interest major investors and increase the financial conditions could improve.
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