Joseph Zane Sikulu is a member of the Pacific Local weather Warriors and Pacific Director for local weather marketing campaign group 350.org. Right here is his open letter to Mukhtar Babayev, president-designate of the COP29 UN local weather summit, which can happen in November in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Pricey COP29 President-Designate Babayev, 

My title is Joseph Sikulu, and I’m Tongan. Final week you visited my dwelling island, the place your staff witnessed torrential rains and an earthquake. You witnessed how prone our persons are to disasters, and the way ready we have to be to satisfy them.

The escalating local weather disaster exacerbates already damaging disasters and final week, as COP29 President-Designate, you met with the UN Secretary-Basic right here in Tonga and acknowledged our realities. You made a dedication to amplify the voices of the Pacific Islands and construct a extra resilient, sustainable future forward of COP29.

However the time for amplifying our voices is over. We want motion. Fossil fuels are on the root of this disaster, fossil fuels threaten our islands.

Regardless of being confronted with devastating local weather impacts, and the prospects of many extra, we gathered in solidarity for the Pacific Islands Discussion board Leaders Assembly. We struggle. And if we struggle, we count on the identical from you.

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The Pacific has accomplished the least to contribute to the local weather disaster, but we’re combating it the toughest. Pacific island nations have dedicated to reaching internet zero by 2050 and 100% renewable power targets. A transition to renewables means hope and survival.

If we will do it, so are you able to. As the following COP President, it’s your obligation to display management. In a letter to nation delegations you known as on them to ship 1.5C-aligned NDCs and dedicated Azerbaijan to doing the identical. However conserving 1.5 alive means no fossil gasoline growth.

But, this yr, your president, Ilham Aliyev, known as fossil fuels “a present from the gods”. For us within the Pacific, such phrases aren’t simply careless — they’re merciless. Our very houses are in danger, and conserving our Pacific houses means no fossil gasoline growth.

‘No extra empty phrases’

At the moment, Azerbaijan doesn’t lead. Azerbaijan is nowhere close to 1.5-aligned. Your local weather objective makes use of accounting methods to proceed enterprise as typical. You communicate of “lowering emissions by 40% in comparison with 1990 ranges by 2050”. Nonetheless, your emissions have been a lot larger in 1990 than they’re within the twenty-first century. We have to fully section out fossil fuels by 2050. Your local weather objective is to do nothing when you plan to increase fossil fuels for exports.

As a substitute of holding the fossil gasoline trade to account, you’ve got offered a greenwashing fund to permit trade to proceed with enterprise as typical. The fund masks the continuing growth of fossil gasoline manufacturing by SOCAR, your state oil firm which is ready to be the primary to contribute. The $1-billion fund will function at market charges as a substitute of concessional finance, a pitiful gesture when set towards the colossal sums wanted for real local weather motion and reparations – a cynical try to distract out of your nation’s damaging environmental practices.

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We are able to’t afford any extra empty phrases. The world wants you to guide it in the direction of an bold and truthful new collective finance objective at COP29 to facilitate the worldwide power transition. We want actual, new and clear finance, coupled with a world effort, significantly on behalf of nations within the International North and people, like yours and Brazil, that can host worldwide local weather summits. It’s your accountability to make it possible for COP29 leads to significant local weather finance commitments and the monetary sources to swiftly transition away from fossil fuels for good, with justice, fairness and respect on the forefront.

We now have neither the time nor the endurance for extra scams, or video games of smoke and mirrors like your greenwashing fund. To maintain international warming beneath 1.5C, we’d like a full and quick phase-out of fossil fuels – interval.

Azerbaijan should step up with bold local weather objectives earlier than November, particularly if it seeks to be seen as a revered local weather host. Actual local weather management will not be elective; it’s a prerequisite for internet hosting local weather summits – and so ought to be respecting and upholding human rights and civic house. Now’s the time to make actual commitments – and to ship on them.