The Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, which was agreed at last month’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, paves the way for accelerated climate action to help save our planet, say Commonwealth Island leaders.
“The Ocean Declaration again emphasises the importance that we must all attach to ensuring that our environment, particularly oceans, are well protected,"
said Ahmed Afif, Vice President of Seychelles, on the margins of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties meeting (COP29) in Baku. He added:
“We feel that this effort, which is being pushed by the Commonwealth, must be supported, and we are very hopeful that many countries, including the Seychelles, will benefit in future.”
The Ocean Declaration, adopted by all 56 Commonwealth member countries, and one of the largest ever marine protection agreements, commits Commonwealth nations to protecting the oceans from the threats of climate, pollution, and overexploitation.
It also asserts the right to existing national marine boundaries in the face of sea level rise; a significant pledge for islands under threat of being subsumed by the ocean.
Additionally, the declaration advocates for the immediate conclusion of the Global Plastic Treaty negotiations, the protection of the ocean rights of Indigenous Peoples, and a commitment to protect 30% of marine areas by 2030.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell of Grenada, whose country has just been devastated by floods, stated:
“The climatic challenges that we face is going to lead to the displacement of people, creating climate refugees and ultimately the geopolitical, social implications of migration will be fuelled by climate change. It’s going to land on your doorstep.
"There is one planet, and people are going to move. We have to decide whether we want to engage with the kind of proactive action that allows people to feel safe and protected and not as climate refugees.”
The Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, Professor Biman Prasad, who has consistently warned at COP29 that climate change is pushing entire Pacific Island communities to the brink, said:
“The Ocean Declaration is a very, very important declaration, and one that will put the ocean health and sustainability in context, and in a way that will be useful and appropriate for the Pacific.”
The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Mr. Feleti Teo, commented:
“Commonwealth countries, 56 of them, issued a declaration on the ocean and it has a dedicated section to sea level rise. My expectation is that, in two years’ time, at the UN General Assembly in 2026 there will be, hopefully, an accepted UN declaration on sea level rise.’’
Malta’s Ambassador for Climate Action and Chair of the National Climate Action Board, Professor Simone Borg, declared:
“The Commonwealth is made up of small states, small island states, very large states, developing countries, developed countries, landlocked and maritime countries. It's really the perfect testing ground of discussing issues, creating a dialogue, testing the position of states, and how can these differences be brought together through a declaration to address the realities of today's world.”
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, said:
"The time has come for us to turn the tide and enhance our financial support to small island states, whose very existence is at peril because of various climate change-induced weather disasters. I am encouraged by the Climate Finance Action Fund to raise US $1 billion announced by the COP Presidency at COP29 and our Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub, which has already unlocked more than US $366 in funding with a further US $500 million in the pipeline, stands ready to be a successful delivery mechanism for the Fund.
"I make this offer of collaboration because our member states desperately need the climate finance promises which have been made to them – through the Green Climate Fund, through the Loss & Damage Fund, and so much more – to be delivered."
To address the urgent need to better protect the ocean, the UN will next year host a seminal Ocean Conference in Nice, France and soon thereafter, several small island developing states are now advocating for COP31 to be a “Blue COP.”
It’s anticipated this COP will be hosted by Australia in partnership with several Pacific Island states, which are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.
Learn more about the declaration
The Commonwealth at COP29
Media contact
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Suné Kitshoff Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
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