GLOBAL AMBITION IS IMPERATIVE l AOSIS Calls for Climate Leadership at Bonn

United Nation Campus Bonn, Germany: As country delegates gather at the United Nations Bonn Climate Change Conference from June 8th – 18th, our world faces a storm of converging crises. Lives are being lost, and livelihoods obliterated by climate disasters over which we have little control. This is made clear by the destructive cyclones which recently ravaged the Pacific, while deadly floods in parts of Africa and extreme heat in Asia have claimed lives and disrupted economies.

Global dependence on fossil fuels is clearly one of the most significant factors driving instability, yet countries somehow still refuse to address the elephant in the room.

We need to face facts: if countries do not commit to implementing the plan outlined in the first Global Stocktake, and transition away from fossil fuels to achieve net zero emissions, we are simply papering over the cracks and delaying an inevitable global economic, social and ecosystems collapse.

The current 2030 and updated 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions will not get us where we need to go. 2030 NDCs still need to be made compatible with a 1.5°C-compatible trajectory. Otherwise, we are at risk of permanently exceeding the 1.5°C goal, where there is no coming back from the catastrophic storms which claim countless lives and eradicate economies, the sea level rise which consumes entire countries, and drought and permanent biodiversity loss which will forever alter life on earth.

Every year, the world’s most informed climate change, diplomacy, policy, and science experts gather in Bonn to painstakingly negotiate plans to urgently alleviate suffering and rescue vital ecosystems. The solutions are here. What is lacking is the political will to deliver at the speed and scale needed. If the world’s top emitters continue blindly down this course, they are complicit in undermining efforts to limit overshoot of our 1.5°C goal.

At this Bonn session, the Alliance of Small Island States demands an aggressive increase in ambition from all countries. We must see outcomes which limit warming to 1.5°C, adhering to our agreement to triple renewable energy capacity, double the rate of energy efficiency improvements, and cut methane emissions. We must accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and embrace the economically viable, secure and practical solutions presented by renewable energy.

In order to support these efforts finance will be key. AOSIS continues to call for the delivery of what was promised and urgent action to resolve issues surrounding SIDS access to finance.

The continued redirection of public finance away from climate and development and toward security and militarisation is a deep source of concern for AOSIS. As climate impacts accelerate, public finance provides a lifeline for the much needed scale up of adaptation efforts, especially for SIDS.

AOSIS calls on all countries to do their part in delivering our world from unnecessary peril. We will be focused on advancing initiatives such as the Belem Mission to 1.5, the Global Implementation Accelerator, the Mitigation Work Programme Review, the UAE Dialogue on Global Stocktake Implementation, the Veredas Dialogue, and operationalisation of the Just Transition Mechanism.

It is imperative that countries join us in tackling the work ahead with a genuine intention to turn the tide and bring about a new era of equity, justice and security for all people.

Ambassador Ilana Seid, AOSIS Chair

Since 1990, AOSIS has represented the interests of the 39 small island and low-lying coastal developing states in international climate change, sustainable development negotiations and processes. As a voice for the vulnerable, its mandate is more than amplifying marginalised voices as it also advocates for these countries’ interests. In terms of size, AOSIS closely resembles the countries it represents on the global stage, but often punches far above its weight, negotiating historic global commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, among other achievements.