Statement by H.E. Jeem Lippwe, Permanent Representative

16 October 2026 

Mr. President,

I thank you for convening this important meeting ahead of COP31.

For my country, COP31 represents a critical opportunity to advance the action necessary to safeguard our people, preserve our homeland, and secure a viable future for generations to come.

Although Micronesia is a steward of a vast ocean area, our islands remain small, low-lying, and highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Rising sea levels are eroding coastlines, contaminating freshwater resources, and threatening livelihoods, infrastructure, and ecosystems. For us, climate change is not a future challenge. It is a present reality with profound implications for our sustainable development, cultural heritage, and national identity.

These circumstances underscore the urgent need to strengthen adaptation, resilience, and preparedness. Effective multi-hazard early warning systems are among the most practical and cost-effective tools for protecting lives and reducing climate-related losses. Such systems must be people-centered, accessible to remote communities, and informed by both scientific expertise and local knowledge.

Mr. President,

Adaptation and resilience require adequate means of implementation. We therefore reiterate the need for scaled-up, predictable, accessible, and grant-based climate finance. Vulnerable countries should not be compelled to assume additional debt in order to respond to a crisis they did little to create.

At the same time, adaptation cannot substitute for mitigation. Preserving the 1.5°C goal requires ambitious and immediate action, including rapid reductions in methane and other short-lived climate pollutants.

As we look toward COP31, we call for renewed solidarity, strengthened support for vulnerable countries, and the full implementation of commitments already made. Let COP31 be remembered as the moment when the international community matched the urgency of the climate crisis with meaningful action.

I thank you.