Small island developing States addressed the United Nations General Assembly to declare that climate change is no longer a distant threat, damaging economies, threatening water and food security, and placing communities at risk.
### Sea-Level Rise and the Limits of Adaptation
Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo told the General Assembly that sea-level rise is now “a present reality,” pointing to efforts on the capital island of Funafuti to reclaim elevated, flood-free land. Echoing the urgency of physical displacement, Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis warned delegates that “the sea does not negotiate. It does not read communiqués. And it does not recognize a veto.”
Leaders from nations responsible for only a small share of global emissions emphasized that they are being forced to pay repeatedly for climate adaptation and disaster recovery.
### Climate Finance as a Matter of Justice
Arguing that the international financial system does not reflect the risks facing small island developing States, Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre characterized climate change as a direct threat to national security, economic stability, and human survival. “Climate finance is not charity,” he declared.
Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molioo echoed this position, calling for climate funding that is accessible, responsive, and free from conditions. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Godwin Friday of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines noted that small States “cannot continue borrowing merely to replace what climate-related disasters repeatedly destroy.”
To address these imbalances, speakers urged the full use of the multidimensional vulnerability index. Such a metric would ensure that financing decisions reflect a nation’s exposure to climate shocks rather than relying primarily on income per person.
### Ocean Protection and Security Disparities
For island and coastal States, the ocean is central to identity, security and economic survival. Tuvalu positioned itself as a “large ocean State,” responsible for some 750,000 square kilometers of ocean despite having only around 26 square kilometers of land. Mauritius reaffirmed its commitment under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and urged the prompt implementation of the High Seas Treaty.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale highlighted that Sustainable Development Goal 14 on life below water remains among the least funded SDGs. “The ocean is not simply a resource; it is our identity, our heritage and our future,” Wale said.
Wale contrasted these funding deficits with global military expenditures, noting that the world spent more than $2.9 trillion on its militaries last year—16 times the total amount of official development assistance. According to Wale, the world spends more on arms in fewer than 18 days than developed countries provide in climate finance over an entire year. Guinea-Bissau’s Prime Minister Ilídio Vieira Té similarly appealed for stronger multilateralism and international cooperation, cautioning that no country can confront today’s challenges alone.
### Water Security and Geopolitical Pressures on Waterways
Water scarcity and transboundary water governance also emerged as major security issues extending beyond island states. Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Kamal Madbouly described the Nile as his country’s lifeline, defining water security as “an existential issue that is not open to compromise.” Madbouly advocated for shared water resources to promote cooperation rather than conflict, firmly rejecting unilateral action and “fait accompli policies”. Complementing these concerns, Kazakhstan proposed the creation of an international water organization under UN auspices, urging a Member State-led process to strengthen global water governance.
Island States additionally warned that geopolitical competition and disruption of major waterways can quickly raise the cost of food, fuel and transportation. Maldives Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef cautioned that sovereignty can be weakened when external powers restrict a State’s freedom to choose its own path, insisting that competition in the Indian Ocean must not constrain smaller countries. Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani characterized waterways as arteries of development through which food, medicine and energy flow. He warned that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab Al Mandab Strait can affect families far beyond coastal States.
### Unfinished Legacy of Pacific Nuclear Testing
Pacific leaders brought attention to the enduring displacement, illness, contamination and loss decades after nuclear testing ended. Kiribati President Taneti Maamau reaffirmed support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and an international trust fund for victims. Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine called on the United Nations to apologize for the harm caused by 67 nuclear weapons tests conducted in her country between 1946 and 1958, when it was a UN Strategic Trust Territory.
