Bose Vavataga 
[Photo: Supplied]
Tuvalu is calling for faster, simpler and grant-based climate finance to help vulnerable Pacific countries deal with the impacts of climate change.
Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo says countries like Tuvalu should not have to take on more debt to protect themselves from a crisis they did little to cause.
Speaking to leaders and delegates in Funafuti, Teo reiterated that climate finance must reach the communities that need it most.
“Small island developing states like Tuvalu have contributed very little to emissions driving this climate crisis, yet we are among those facing its most severe consequences. So I ask a simple question. Why should countries like Tuvalu take on more debt to protect ourselves from a climate crisis we did so little to cause? We should not have to borrow a way out of a crisis we did not create”.
Teo says Tuvalu is also calling for stronger action to keep the 1.5-degree Celsius target within reach.
He adds that for Tuvalu, 1.5 degrees is not simply a target under the Paris Agreement but a survival limit.
The country is already investing in coastal protection and creating safer land for its people.
Leaders, he said must take the lessons from Tuvalu to COP31 and turn climate commitments into action.
“Because the real test of this pre-COP is not more speeches and promises, but actions that we will carry from Tuvalu to Fiji, to COP 31 in Tekia, and beyond. Excellencies, as you leave Tuvalu this afternoon, please do not leave only having seen our vulnerabilities”
Teo adds that the voices of Pacific communities must shape climate decisions, with action needed to protect people, the ocean and the future of vulnerable island countries.
