12 November 2014: The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) identified finance as a major priority going into the next round of climate change negotiations. The coalition met for a two-day summit in Seychelles to consolidate its position ahead of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCCC in December 2014, in Lima, Peru.

Lamenting that developed countries had broken financing promises in the past, AOSIS Ministers called for “scaled-up, adequate and predictable finance.”

The statement released by the AOSIS ministers identifies US$15 billion as a starting point for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which is expected to benefit from a High-Level Pledging Conference in Berlin, Germany, on 20 November 2014. Aside from stressing the need for funding to support small island developing States (SIDS) as they grapple with climate change, the statement urges world leaders to adopt an “ambitious legally binding agreement applicable to all parties” at COP 21, which will be held in Paris, France, in December 2015.

The ministers also recognize the importance of the targets jointly announced by US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, but underline that they await to see whether the pledges add up to the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to ensure a safe climate. They call for scaling ambition, clean energy implementation and other solution-oriented actions prior to 2020, especially under workstream 2 of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP).

The summit was chaired by Nauru and hosted by the Government of Seychelles. [AOSIS Press Release] [IISD RS Story on Chinese, US Emission Targets] [Seychelles President Statement]