England (Commonwealth Union)_ The Honorable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, the Prime Minister of Samoa, has lauded the Commonwealth’s position as a patron for small states during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which was held in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. The Prime Minister held a meeting with the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, on the sidelines of the summit to highlight the challenges faced by small island developing states in the Pacific, such as Samoa, and to discuss the current preparations for the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2024.
By hosting the 2024 CHOGM summit, Samoa becomes the first small island developing state from the Pacific to host the summit. The meeting will gather leaders from the 56 Commonwealth countries, which includes 33 small states, the majority of which are island nations, to focus on issues of shared concern and take collective measures on global concerns including climate change, human rights, rule of law, and sustainable development.
According to Prime Minister Fiame, the Commonwealth has always supported the interests of small states. It identifies resources and creates programs that may solve their special requirements and concerns, for example, programmes to increase biodiversity or the creation of climate change laws. She expressed gratitude for the valuable chance to host the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2024, which will improve the visibility of small island governments even further.
Greeting the delegtiona, Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: “Pacific countries have been at the vanguard of global climate advocacy and they are fighting here at COP27 for their survival and a viable future for us all. For island nations such as Samoa, climate change is a lived experience that intersects with a host of other acute challenges. The Commonwealth is committed to supporting all our member countries to tackle these challenges together each step of the way.”
Regarding the COP27 discussions, Hon. Fiame stated that Samoa’s goals match those of the broader Pacific region and include reducing the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, mitigating loss and damage, mobilizing climate finance, and the climate change-ocean nexus. According to her, the climate-related results of the last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, including the approval of the Commonwealth Living Lands Charter, were a natural connection to the COP27 deliberations. During the conference, the Secretary-General also provided details regarding additional Commonwealth Secretariat projects, including the Commonwealth Blue Charter, the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition Agenda, and the Commonwealth Universal Vulnerability Index.
