Solomon Islands Prime Minister Mathew Wale has issued a powerful and urgent call to global leaders, demanding immediate, and concrete action to tackle the climate crisis. 

Talking to In-depth Solomons exclusively, Prime Minister Wale said, it’s been two decades since the Parish Agreement, “The time for action now.”

Reflecting on delayed global commitments, Wale called the lack of post-Paris Agreement progress an indictment of humanity, particularly for Pacific and other small island nations.

“The fact that we’re more than a decade after the Paris Agreement, and still we’re talking about the same issues is an indictment on the world.” He said, frontline coastal communities are not seeking handouts, asserting, “We’re not asking for charity. We’re asking for justice.”

The Prime Minister condemned major economic powers for continuing to heavily subsidize fossil fuels and commission new coal and gas projects, pointing out the stark mismatch with their financial pledges for adaptation and relocation. 

He said, exporting fossil fuels does not relieve nations of responsibility. “You dig up the coal, regardless of whether you use it at home or you send it overseas. It’s your contribution to the pollution.”

Highlighting the human cost, Wale explained that vulnerable island nations remain trapped in a “perpetual cycle of suffering loss, damage, and then recovering.” Describing the situation as a grave existential crisis that robs children of their future, he urged developed nations and major polluters to turn their pledges into genuine financial support and honor their international obligations.

In his opening remarks to open the COP31 leaders summit, UN secretary General Anthonio Guterres echoed the same sentiment, making a stern warning that, “Profit most from fossil fuels must help foot the bill for the damage they have caused. Polluters must pay.” 

Despite this frustration, Prime Minister Wale reaffirmed the Solomon Islands’ commitment to international engagement and domestic climate resilience, including plans to establish an independent statutory Climate Fund and climate-proof national infrastructure.

Wale pledged USD 400,000 to the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) next replenishment, during COP31 in Antalya, marking a historic moment for international climate finance at COP31 as the first country from small Islands states to make the historic pledge. 

_{This story was produced as part of the COP31 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, Informed Earth and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.}