AOSIS closing statement
COP 29
Baku, Azerbaijan

Opener

Alliance of Small Island States joins the consensus on COP 29. We have crossed many oceans and continents to meet here for a comprehensive outcome on the finance goal.

We had more hope that the process would protect the interests of the most vulnerable and those with the least capacity. Nevertheless, we once again have shown how the global community can come together to find solutions that serve humanity.

Make no mistake. The urgency for taking climate action to address the ever-worsening impacts of climate change remains. The level of ambition for taking climate action needs to be much, much higher. And it is our great hope that the additional finance administered as a result of the new goal will help get us there.

NCQG

On the overall finance goal, AOSIS is concerned over the lack of willingness to meet the needs of vulnerable developing countries. This new finance goal will only serve to kickstart the implementation of our NDCs and NAPs. As we call for higher ambition on mitigation in the updated NDCs, it is paramount that we unlock more financing to ensure that NDCs are implemented in a timely manner.

Time is not on our side. The need to implement ambitious NDCs is more urgent than ever. As is the need for effective adaptation measures and responses to loss and damage when adaptation hits its limits. Mr President, SIDS cannot do this alone, we require transformational change in access to climate finance in accordance with the Convention and the Paris Agreement to ensure that we achieve the goal of a 1.5 world.

As we look forward to Belem next year, this will be the litmus test on which ambitious NDCs will be judged.

Mr. President,

On the GST, we arrived in Baku with a clear vision for the implementation of all GST outcomes we agreed upon in Dubai. It is disappointing that we have not made progress on this agenda item. We hope that by delaying the consideration of the refinements to the GST process to next year that we will have an outcome that allows us to create the conditions for a successful second global stocktake to begin in 2026.
We are disappointed that we could not agree on the modalities for the UAE GST Dialogue. For us, the purpose of the UAE dialogue has been clear: it should be a mechanism to implement and track progress in implementation of all the outcomes of GST1, with a particular focus on finance and other means of implementation. However, we are extremely disappointed by the lack of ambition reflected in the draft decision, especially concerning the mitigation aspects.

It is crucial that we find a way to move forward with the mitigation outcomes we agreed upon at COP28 and ensure that the outcomes of the first GST do not end up a broken forgotten promise further imperilling the vulnerable people of our countries and everywhere.

Mitigation (MWP ambitious NDCs)

Excellencies and colleagues
We regret that the mitigation outcome at this conference under the Mitigation Work Programme is empty and low-ambition. As Parties we must implement the Dubai outcomes prioritising the transition to renewable energy sources and phasing out fossil fuels. High emitters must commit to deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. Strengthening cooperation on finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building is essential, implementing targeted actions in key sectors to reduce emissions is crucial. The woeful lack of direction to achieve the necessary ambition to meet the 1.5C goal sets us back at a time when we should be accelerating our actions. The continued delay will cost us innocent lives and result in more suffering.

Just transition

Mr. President, AOSIS has been calling for a just transition pathway which is fit for purpose that does not leave anyone behind.
At this COP we transitioned this text to increasingly unjust and unacceptable versions that failed to underscore the importance of just transition pathways in our NDCs, NAPS and Long Term Low Emissions Development Strategies and further failed to establish the linkages from the outcomes of the first global stocktake relevant to just transitions. We regret that our work here in this important area was in vain. We hope that we can resume next year with a renewed genuine commitment to make progress on the Just Transition Work Programme as a beacon of hope to people everywhere.

Article 6

We welcome the efforts by the COP President to close these negotiations and wrap the discussion here to enable us to fully unleash the potential and opportunities of market mechanisms. We further welcome the decision by the CMA at the start of this COP which allowed Parties to find a common ground on cooperative approaches under Article 6.4.

GGA

Adaptation is a high priority for SIDS. Unfortunately, adaptation, specifically the GGA, has not been given the attention it deserves at this COP. At this session, we would like to have moved further in steering the implementation of the UAE-Belem work programme on indicators. However, we remain hopeful that with a concentrated effort next year, the UAE-Belem work programme will produce an outcome that facilitates the operationalization of the GGA framework through the achievement of its targets, saving millions of livelihoods and lives.

Oceans

Finally, Mr President, as small island nations we must tie our work here to the ocean. We affirm the importance of the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue and invite Parties to take into account the ocean-relevant outcomes of the global stocktake (GST) in the preparation of their new NDCs, noting both the role of ocean-based action on climate change, particularly in renewable energy and the vital intersection of ocean and coastal climate issues in adaptation policy planning.

Closer

Mr. President

In closing, we would like to add our voice in support of your leadership. Thank you for working tirelessly to help us agree on this balanced package we have before us. The long days and sleepless nights were made easier by the warm hospitality you have extended to our SIDS delegations.

We look forward to working with you in the coming year to begin the even harder work of implementing the package and further building on the work we started here in Baku.

I thank you.