PM Friday calls for climate finance justice at UN General Assembly

During his inaugural address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday called for a fundamental shift in how climate finance is provided to small island states.

Dr. Friday argued that concessional climate finance should be viewed as “justice, not charity,” noting that vulnerable nations should not be forced into unsustainable debt to rebuild after recurring climate disasters. He highlighted that countries contributing the least to global emissions often bear the highest economic costs from extreme weather, such as the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl.

The Prime Minister advocated for several systemic reforms, including the full implementation of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index to ensure financing reflects actual climate risks rather than just income levels. He also endorsed the Bridgetown Initiative, which proposes automatic debt-service suspension during disasters, expanded Special Drawing Rights, and a shift for multilateral development banks to act as development partners rather than commercial lenders.