Tuvalu Minister for Transport, Energy, Communications and Innovation Simon Kofe delivers a closing statement on behalf of Fiji, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, Vanuatu, Seychelles, and Tuvalu at the International Maritime Organization. Photo: Micronesian Center for Sustainable Transport
Pacific leaders and allies expressed their disappointment at an agreement to tackle shipping emissions during the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) by refusing to support it.
The agreement covers the vast majority of the world's commercial shipping and means that starting in 2028, ship owners will have to use increasingly cleaner fuels or face fines. It was passed at the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) meeting in London.
Ministers from Fiji, the Marshall Islands, the Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, as well as a representative of Palau, abstained in the outcome of the IMO negotiations, refusing to support an agreement that would do too little, too late to cut shipping emissions and protect their islands.
The Pacific and their allies, including the Seychelles, Caribbean, African and Central American states, and the United Kingdom, had put forward a proposal for a universal levy on greenhouse gas emissions.
This proposal would have created a pathway to steeply reduce shipping emissions, ensure a just and equitable transition, and provide predictable financing for those suffering the most from climate impacts.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London Photo: Alfonso Roca
Pacific leaders and negotiators expressed deep disappointment in the outcome.
Explaining the decision to abstain on the final deal, Manasseh Maelanga, Solomon Islands' Minister of Infrastructure Development, said "we cannot support an outcome that does not live up to the agreed strategy. We will seek to improve this deal that unchanged will cause greater instability, and force shipping to continue polluting - that we can not accept."
Minister Simon Kofe, Minister for Transport, Energy, Communication and Innovation, agreed, "we came as climate vulnerable countries-with the greatest need and the clearest solution. And what did we face? Weak alternatives from the world's biggest economies-alternatives that won't get us on a pathway to the 1.5°C temperature limit.
They asked us to settle for less, while we are the ones losing the most. We will not negotiate away our future."
Vanuatu's Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology, Geo-Hazards, Environment, Energy, and Disaster Management of Vanuatu placed blame on a range of parties.
"Let us be clear about who has abandoned 1.5°C. Saudi Arabia, the US and fossil fuel allies pushed down the numbers to an untenable level and blocked progress at every turn. These countries - and others - failed to support a set of measures that would have gotten the shipping industry onto a 1.5°C pathway. And they turned away a proposal for a reliable source of revenue for those of us in dire need of finance to help with climate impacts."
Minister Antony Derjacques of the Seychelles said "the developing countries with the greatest need came here and offered a solution. How can the other major economies ask us to take a weak deal home to our people, who are suffering as a result of the climate crisis? And how can they take it back to their own constituents?"
"We were fighting not only for our countries' economic interests, but also for the safety of our people and our homes," said Hilton Kendall, Minister of Transportation, Communication and Information Technology of the Marshall Islands.
"We couldn't take home the outcome that was given to us as a take-or-leave option - with rich countries asking us to pay for their technological transition while leaving us behind."
The Pacific will return to Marine Environment Protection Committee in October. Their message is clear: this is not the end.
"We are not done. We will be back," said Marshall Islands ambassador to the IMO Albon Ishoda. "Alongside our friends from the Caribbean, the Pacific, Africa, Central America, and the UK. Still standing. Still steering."
