SIDS are a microcosm of technical and innovative nature-based solutions to climate adaptation. Their leadership is evident across across financial instruments, energy transformation, food security, and ambitious policies - establishing precedent to be replicated and scaled up throughout SIDS and the world.
To stimulate decarbonized and resilient societies, SIDS have been working to reduce their dependence on imported energy and food products through digital transformation and innovation. Mauritius is improving its energy self-sufficiency while simultaneously supporting local communities and employment through a focus on innovative solar farms, ambitiously aiming for 35% of the island’s energy to be renewable by 2025. Meanwhile, Belize negotiated an MOU with a German technology firm to transform the challenge of sargassum into renewable electricity that also reduces deforestation. CloudSolar in Barbados provides a digital platform to de-risk investment in the solar energy sector by democratizing the approach, enabling scalability throughout SIDS, and reducing their vulnerability as price takers in the energy market. To overcome future supply chain disruptions, Singapore has sponsored non-traditional vertical farming from companies such as Archisen, as the country looks to meet 30% of nutritional requirements by 2030. Similarly, Caribbean SIDS are also enhancing their emergency response systems through a disaster preparedness hub to support rapid climate repsonse. This initiative showcases how SIDS-SIDS collaboration can address structural challenges from limited geographical areas and financial resources.
Last year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the first part of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) a “code red for humanity.” Throughout 2022, SIDS were not only active in the international political arena but have also been tirelessly developing and implementing innovative solutions locally to address AR6’s noted climate urgency, which identified SIDS as the subgroup most in need of foreign investment in capacity building and adaptation. Belize and Barbados have both negotiated a debt conversion to support conservation and adaptation.
Through the leadership and decades-long perseverance of SIDS, COP27 has resulted in the adoption of the Loss and Damage funds, the critical climate win for 2022. The agreement established a fund for developing countries to avert, minimize, and address loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change. SIDS and other developing states have been calling attention to this for years, stressing the need for cooperative global financing and action as they already endure an average of 20 major natural disasters per year. But while this step is decisive, the success of adapting to climate change will now depend on how fast countries will work together to operationalize the fund by deciding what form it should take, how loss should be calculated, and exactly who will pay for it. Though inescapably, the most important action to mitigate climate change is continuing to address its underlying causes by reducing global emissions through a just transition to clean and sustainable sources of energy while simultaneously recognizing the requirement for adaptation strategies.
Considering climate action and biodiversity conservation are interlinked, earlier this week the 15th COP of the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed on a historic package of measures deemed critical to addressing the dangerous loss of biodiversity and restoring natural ecosystems. This will help in mobilizing financial flows for SIDS and LDC’s to overcome the biodiversity funding gap, cutting food and chemical waste in half, enacting accountability of the private sector and ensuring the benefits from the utilization of genetic resource are shared equitably with indigenous peoples and local communities. The plan includes concrete measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including putting 30 percent of the planet and 30 percent of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030. Another key outcome of COP15 was the formation of ‘Coalition for Nature’ formed by SIDS to advocate for SIDS' common priorities and needs including financing and support to meet biodiversity objectives.
Read the full bulletin here - https://mailchi.mp/undp/sids-bulletin-2022-in-review
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