New York, United States, 21 September 2023 – Prime Minister the Honourable Mark Brown joined a high-level working lunch dedicated to international climate policy on Monday, 18 September.
The exchange, which included a mix of Leaders from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Latin American States as well as Germany, was held in the margins of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level week, and co-hosted by the Prime Minister of Samoa, the Honourable Fiame Naomi Mata'afa and Federal Chancellor of Germany, His Excellency Olaf Scholz, alongside German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Annalena Baerbock.
The gathering provided a unique and constructive platform for Leaders to engage in candid discussions on international climate policy, particularly those pressing climate change issues which disproportionately affect SIDS, including the Cook Islands.
Views were exchanged on aspirations for the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) to convene in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November, the financing challenges faced by Small Island Developing States, the forthcoming 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States to be hosted by Antigua and Barbuda in 2024, and the importance of scaled up and accessible climate financing for SIDS.
A recurring contribution from various SIDS Leaders in attendance, including from the Pacific, was the need for equitable and accessible financing mechanisms to empower Small Island Developing States to effectively address climate adaptation and mitigation needs.
Prime Minister Brown highlighted the Pacific Partnerships for Prosperity (PPfPs), a framework he is championing to support and deliver on the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which is aimed at corraling and mobilising partners’ investment in key regional collective climate actions.
In his contribution to the exchange, Prime Minister Brown commended Chancellor Scholz for Germany’s continued leadership on climate finance with its most recent pledge of EUR two-billion to the Green Climate Fund second replenishment (GCF-2) announced by Chancellor Scholz in May.
"I want to commend Germany's continued leadership on climate finance, the most recent pledge announced by Chancelor Scholz in May makes Germany the largest cumulative contributor to the GCF to date, with a total of EUR 4.25 billion to the GCF since 2014," said Prime Minister Brown.
"This is climate leadership, and we hope Germany's contribution will encourage other developed nations to match this level of ambition. We encourage Germany to consider contributing directly to Pacific Partnerships for Prosperity regional initiatives, including the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), Resource Mobilisation for the Weather-Ready Decadal Programme of Investment, and partnering in the Pacific Regional Framework for Climate Mobility to ensure Germany's aspirations for climate action, to deliver climate support to the most vulnerable, including Pacific coastal communities, is achieved."
Germany has been a Pacific Islands Forum Dialogue Partner since 2016, and will attend the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting to be hosted by the Cook Islands from 6 November 2023, immediately before COP28 to convene in the UAE.