Excerpt from thecommonwealth.org
Although Small Island Developing States contribute less than 1% to global carbon emissions that lead to climate change, they are among the most affected, due to a failure of action.
By Sagar Joshi, Commonwealth National Finance Adviser for Maldives and Labanya Jena, Commonwealth Regional Climate Finance Adviser for the Indo-Pacific region
For the second year in a row, climate action failure is ranked as the top global risk by the World Economic Forum, while four of the other risks in the top ten are also climate change induced.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are usually the first to bear the ill effects of climate change. The adverse effects range from a high frequency of climate-induced natural disasters impacting livelihoods and the economy, to the existential threat from rising sea levels. The expected losses due to climate change in some SIDS are estimated to be as high as 6.5% of annual GDP, compared to a global average of 0.5%.
Tackling the investment gap
These challenges require an immediate response from the countries concerned as well as the global community to build the required infrastructure and resilience to combat climate change. Doing so would require substantial investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation.