Prime Minister Mia Mottley and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed have raised concerns about the difficulties Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face in restructuring debt while providing essential services.
During a ‘Fireside Chat’ at the Global Inclusive Growth Summit, held in Washington to coincide with the annual IMF-World Bank Spring meetings, Mottley said international financing for SIDS’ sustainable development is primarily used for climate change adaptation rather than social programmes to reduce poverty.
“Climate is part of the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] . . .we may save the planet and lose the people,” she said.
Mottley explained that SIDS are forced to choose between climate resilience projects like coastal defence and funding for schools, hospitals and crime prevention initiatives within a short timeframe: “If at the same time I am trying to build out my coastal infrastructure to stop aquifers from being spoilt forever because of saltwater intrusion, I can’t spend money on building schools or building hospitals, and all of this within a timeframe of at most a decade, how am I going to make it?”
The prime minister argued that the fiscal constraints prevent long-term social investments that benefit future generations. “You are not even giving the kids a chance to grow up and help pay for the school that [was] built, or for the hospital that has been built.”
Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed, who chairs the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, agreed the climate and development agendas are “in crisis”: “Climate action is development; if we look at the 17 goals we have, at the very centre of it are these three dimensions that we have, one of them is the environment.”
She warned that lack of funding for SIDS can inadvertently drive people toward criminal activities, pointing to her experience with the militant Islamic group Boko Haram’s rise in northern Nigeria.
“I went to school in the same place we had Boko Haram,” she said. “If we had put the investments at scale, in time, we would not have had this disaffection where there is a better job working for ISIS or ISIL than for building your nations.”
Both leaders criticised the international community’s “doublespeak” and lack of unified support for the interlinked climate and development challenges facing SIDS.
They agreed that current frameworks are failing to provide SIDS with the fiscal flexibility required to invest in their sustainable development across social, economic and environmental priorities.
“The financial markets are premised on short-term money and short-term gain,” Mottley declared, contrasting this with the long-term investments needed in areas like education, health care and crime prevention.
Mohammed echoed these concerns about insufficient and inflexible financing for SIDS. “The frustration is real because the instruments are there, the political will if powered can do the things we need to do,” she said.
Their comments highlighted the unique vulnerabilities faced by SIDS due to their small size, remoteness, limited resources and exposure to economic and environmental shocks beyond their shores.
Mottley questioned why statistical “idyllic” indicators for Caribbean nations mask underlying socioeconomic challenges.
“The Caribbean for example has one of the highest homicide rates per capita in the world, but nobody studies that because of our idyllic appearance.
“Guns don’t talk and guns don’t walk, so how do you stop people from using guns? You got to give them education and you got to give them opportunity,” the PM declared.
She and the UN deputy secretary-general called for a more holistic and coordinated global approach that provides SIDS with the necessary fiscal space and concessions to make progress across the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
“The climate agenda is not different from the development agenda that is in crisis,” said Mohammed. “Both are in crisis right now. As Mia just said, you can save the planet and then there are no people on it. You have to do the two together . . . . Right now we are losing our moral compass on several grounds.”
Mottley said: “I think what you are hearing from the DSG is that there is an utter frustration with the doublespeak, and the lack of capacity to see, hear, and feel people.”
