Local2030 Islands Network Inaugural Island Leaders Summit in Palau

Summary of Meeting

On April 12, 2022, the Local2030 Islands Network convened for the first in person high-level meeting co-chaired by Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on the occasion of the Our Oceans Conference 2022. The Local2030 Islands Network is the world's first island-led peer-to-peer network that brings together a diverse set of island economies, including nations, states, provinces and communities from around the world to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). President Whipps and Secretary Kerry opened the meeting by noting the importance of island leadership in addressing the climate crisis, and the opportunity to strengthen lasting relationships to build resilience. Members spoke of their commonality and shared values, noting the importance of building lasting relationships, and advantages inherent in island communities such as an openness to the world, and the importance of partnerships.

Members discussed taking concrete action in support of joint objectives, including positioning the network to support policy and action to achieve the SDGs through island values and innovation; growing network membership to represent the global diversity of island economies; and launching Communities of Practice (CoPs) on high priority issues. The agenda focused on facilitating a candid high-level dialogue around key policy issues and providing a platform for sharing concrete island solutions. 

Members discussed opportunities for collective action, particularly around ocean stewardship, climate resilience, regenerative tourism, and measuring progress.  President Whipps and Secretary Kerry were joined at the in person gathering by Leaders, Ministers and other senior officials from island economies that are members of the network including the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Grenada, Guam, Hawai’i and  Ireland, as well as observers to the meeting such as New Zealand and Australia. Additionally, Antigua and Barbuda officially announced joining the Network at the meeting. 

Measuring Progress 

President Whipps Jr. in his opening remarks stressed the importance of reliable data and presenting it in a way that it can be easily digested by all stakeholders. Members welcomed the announcement by Assistant Secretary of State Monica Medina of a new centralized Data Hub in partnership with Esri, the SDG Data Alliance, and NOAA. This Hub will provide assistance with licensing, geospatial frameworks and data collection for members, including supporting the creation of data dashboards to track individual island priorities.  Members will also have access to the “Train the Trainer” program and support in communicating island solutions through Esri story maps. Members underscored that a dashboard mechanism for tracking progress can be key to promoting transparency and accountability. Members further noted  that for data to be useful, it must be reliable, accessible and prioritized by their individual needs. 

Collective Action through Communities of Practice 

Secretary Kerry in his Opening Remarks noted leadership and action taking place at the local level, highlighting the efforts of U.S. islands like Hawaii, Guam and Puerto Rico to achieve a net-zero, climate-resilient economic recovery.  He invited other island economies to join the network, which includes local, state and national island jurisdictions and entities from all regions of the world. Members discussed the potential for the network to support locally driven solutions critical to building climate resilience. Many in the group noted the network could support valuable cooperation on innovation and policies to enable deployment of technologies, including energy efficiency and renewable energy. 

Assistant Secretary Medina congratulated the Network on the Communities of Practice (CoPs) developed to date, led by island stakeholders, to support access to data and clean energy systems deployment. She noted that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are providing technical support to these Communities of Practice, which encourages members to collaborate on priority initiatives. NOAA Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad provided reflections and underscored that in order for data to be useful to members it must be reliable, accessible and prioritized by their individual needs. Members noted the importance of youth engagement within the CoPs and expressed that the CoPs will be a crucial tool in assisting islands in their recovery from Covid-19 by providing a virtual space for islands located at very different points around the world, yet struggling with the same challenges, to find shared solutions.

Launch of the Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism Community of Practice

Members discussed the launch of a new Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism Community of Practice to support a comprehensive economic recovery strategy to build back greener, more equitably and resiliently. Leaders noted that Pacific islands in particular are some of the world's foremost sustainable tourism destinations, and could provide expertise to the other members when this Community of Practice  convenes. 

President Whipps and Secretary Kerry invited members to provide additional feedback following the meeting and to share ideas to support collective action in advance of the next meeting of the Local2030 Islands Network late this year.

Members:

H.E. Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. , President, Republic of Palau

Hon. Steven Victor, Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and the Environment, Republic of Palau

Hon. John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, United States of America

Monica Medina, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, United States of America

Hon. Joses R. Gallen, Secretary, Department of Justice, Federated States of Micronesia

Hon. John Silk, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Marshall Islands

Hon. Simon Stiell, Minister for Climate Resilience, the Environment, Forestry, Fisheries, Disaster Management, and Information, Grenada

Hon. Lou Leon Guerrero, Governor, Guam

H.E. Conrod Hunte, Deputy Permanent Representative at the Antigua and Barbuda Mission to the UN, Antigua and Barbuda

Hon. Mitch Roth, Mayor, County of Hawaiʻi

John Gilroy, Climate and Sustainable Development Lead, Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN, Ireland

Partners:

Hon. Dr. Richard Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Administrator, US NOAA

Dr Stuart Minchin, Director-General, The Pacific Community (SPC)

Suzanne Puanani Vares-Lum, President, East-West Center

Susan Ruffo, Senior Advisor for Ocean and Climate, UN Foundation

Keone Nakoa, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Insular and International Affairs, US Dept of Interior 

Observers:

Hon. Aupito William Sio, Minister for Pacific Peoples and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand

H.E. Jamie Isbister, Ambassador for the Environment, Australia