Browne Demands Climate Finance and Action to Protect Small Island States

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has called on world leaders to accelerate climate action and expand access to affordable financing, warning that further delays threaten the survival, livelihoods and cultural heritage of small island states.

Speaking at the Global Citizen NOW Summit in Perth, Australia, on October 20, Browne said vulnerable countries needed international commitments backed by funding, clear implementation plans and accountability.

He participated in a fireside discussion titled “The Cost of Complacency,” moderated by Professor Gordon Flake, founding chief executive officer of the Perth USAsia Centre at the University of Western Australia.

Browne drew on the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017, which damaged or destroyed approximately 95 per cent of properties in Barbuda and forced the evacuation of the island’s entire population.

Recovery needs were estimated at US$222 million, equivalent to approximately 20 per cent of Antigua and Barbuda’s gross domestic product.

He contrasted those losses with the Caribbean’s negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that countries least responsible for climate change continue to bear disproportionate costs.

While financial assistance can help rebuild infrastructure, Browne said, it cannot fully compensate for lives lost, displaced communities or damage to ancestral lands and cultural heritage.

The Prime Minister urged major emitters and international financial institutions to provide meaningful support before disasters strike, rather than concentrating assistance on recovery.

He also called for changes to the way vulnerable countries qualify for development financing. National income alone, he argued, does not adequately capture exposure to hurricanes, rising seas and external economic shocks.

Browne advocated using the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index to guide decisions on concessional financing, debt relief and development assistance.

He pointed to the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States in 2024, as a framework that must now deliver practical benefits.

He also highlighted the advisory opinion of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, following an initiative advanced by Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu through the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law.

Such diplomatic and legal gains, he said, must translate into stronger emissions reductions, renewable energy investment and affordable financing for resilient infrastructure.

With Antigua and Barbuda preparing to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from November 1 to 4, Browne said the gathering offered an opportunity to secure measurable development outcomes.

As incoming Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, he identified affordable financing, renewable energy, electrification, expanded trade and opportunities for young people among his priorities.

He said the Commonwealth’s collective influence should be used to shape global decisions on climate finance, debt and sustainable development, particularly for its most vulnerable members.

Browne also acknowledged King Charles III’s longstanding climate advocacy and expressed his intention to work with the King, Commonwealth leaders and international partners to mobilise investment.

Looking ahead to COP31, he urged Australia, Türkiye and the wider international community to deliver concrete results, renew their commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and give greater attention to Caribbean and Pacific island states.

Browne warned that continued inaction would carry consequences beyond economic losses, including displacement, destroyed communities and the irreversible loss of heritage and livelihoods.

He called for CHOGM 2026 and COP31 to become turning points, with international promises supported by financing and action that protects vulnerable populations.