Prime Minister Mark Brown criticised world superpowers for lack of action on climate change in his speech at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) conference in South Korea yesterday.

Brown is representing the Cook Islands at the Green Climate Fund Global Programming Conference being held in Seoul.

During the plenary session on Monday, Brown said he heard two “disturbing” and “critically concerning” issues linked to the Paris Agreement days ago.

“Firstly, that without any further action on the part of all countries, sea-levels are set to rise by a range of up to 70cm, and secondly that the G20, comprising 80 per cent of global emissions, failed to agree to collective commitment as pledged under COP26 in Glasgow,” Brown said.

“What then do these two issues mean for us? Is attending COP27 against this backdrop going to provide any further confidence in humanity’s collective will to tackle this climate emergency?”

Brown asked if the GCF would be able to provide the resources to address the world’s needs related to climate change.

He said for many years he had highlighted that the climate finance required was insufficient for all developing countries.

“In today’s economic climate, progressing our way out of a pandemic, seeking to plan for our economic recovery, there is a clear view that partnerships and cooperation in climate financing is needed,” Brown said.

Brown said climate finance needed to be treated in a collective way, similar to the Paris Agreement. 

He said up to 16 per cent of the Cook Islands GDP was spent on climate funding-related activities.