The Marshall Islands became the 13th country to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty at the 4th International Conference of Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) held in Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean May 27-30 2024. Marshallese climate warrior Selina Leem is a part of the @fossilfueltreaty ngo which is spearheading the treaty initiative.
Benetick Kabua Maddison, Executive Director of the Marshallese Educational Initiative, invited by the Environmental Mobility Research Unit, was also in attendance as part of their delegation at SIDS. Benetick leads MEI’s work in the climate and nuclear areas and has said that, in addition to international support, the Marshall Islands’ natural resources are key to its economic development and to combat environmental degradation.
The Marshall Islands, at 2 meters above sea level, has seen a sea level rise of 7 mm per year since 1993, twice that of the world average of 3.6 mm. Selina based her comments in her own experience living the climate crisis: “During one of our worst inundations, I was still a child. My grandmother was trying to take me from her house to a shelter, leaving our grandfather behind. He said he would stay back to protect the house. And as a small child, I had seen those waves. They had risen above the sea walls and flooded everywhere, drowning the graves. They had broken down uncle’s house and I looked at my grandpa’s aging frame. What in the world does he mean? How do you protect the house from the ocean’s anger? Would he even be there when we came back home tomorrow during low tide, I was frantic and terrified. And no one, and I mean no one, especially a child, should ever have to live through that fear.”
She also spoke about the Marshall Islands’ leadership, rooted in our cultural traditions and indigineous knowledge, in securing the 1.5 red line in the Paris Agreement: “With planned fossil fuel production being 110% higher than is consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 this is a crucial platform to advocate for our needs and our priorities on the global stage, to secure a safe present and future, ensuring longevity.”
The conference focused on climate change, economic and social issues, and the debt crisis in the SIDS. In addition to better understanding the problems in SIDS, the conference highlighted the colonial history of and the impact of slavery and the sugar plantations in the Caribbean, evident in the health problems facing the region.
Challenges in the SIDS were highlighted, but so were solutions to addressing them by governments, civil society groups, academia, and young people to accelerate sustainable development in the SIDS. The conference concluded with unanimous support for the new 10 year plan called The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, a renewed declaration for resilient prosperity.
H.E. President Hilda Heine, Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko, Foreign Secretary Isabella Silk, Ambassador Albon Ishoda, Deputy Permanent Representative Sam Lanwi, Climate Envoy Tina Stege, RMI Youth Representative Jobod Silk, Selina Leem, @markharmony’s Kairo Langrus and Raygon Jacklick, and several others from the Marshall Islands were also in attendance. Many thanks to all those representing the Marshall Islands!
Photo credits: MEI, PIF, EMRU, Tina Stege