President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere is calling for a collective action stressing that the climate crisis knows no borders and that sea level rise is one of the most profound manifestations of the global climate emergency.

He highlighted this at the plenary on Multi-stakeholder Thematic Panel Discussions on Adaption Finance and Resilience in Relation to Sea-Level Rise on the margins of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The President emphasized the pressing need for global collaboration to tackle the growing threat of sea level rise.

He says sea level rise is not just a distant danger but an immediate threat to thousands of people in small island states and millions in low-lying coastal areas.

He says the significant impacts already being felt, especially in the Pacific, where the threat is escalating at an alarming rate.

“We must integrate access to sea level rise finance as an actionable item. In our deliberations, we should concede the loss and damage caused by sea level rise and the financial needs attached to it. We must address the existing climate finance gap, which currently leaves the most vulnerable nations with insufficient resources to adapt. This is unjust.”

Katonivere is also calling on developed countries to fulfill their climate finance pledges, underlining the need for a more ambitious and collective approach at the upcoming COP29 conference.

President Katonivere also called for reforms to global financial institutions like the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund to better respond to the urgent need for climate finance.

He stresses the importance of involving women, youth, indigenous groups, and marginalized communities in finding solutions.