Small Island States and the Paris Agreement
4 Pages Posted: 4 Jan 2019
Date Written: December 21, 2015
Abstract
Islands predominated in the Paris COP negotiations. From metaphor to moral compass to declarations of kinship — like President Obama’s — the small island developing states’ vulnerability, dignity, and ambitions served as a rudder. Among other significant provisions discussed below, the response of the Agreement and the decision text — the latter a supporting though not legally binding document — and to demands for capacity building and efficient, simplified procedures for accessing financial resources directly addressed small islands’ concerns. And so the closing movements of the meetings offered congratulatory and hortatory words from island representatives, including a spontaneous, harmonized chorus of Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds stressing the refrain, “Every little thing is gonna be alright."
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