The event began on Monday, and delegations from all 39 island states are participating.

One of the talks will address the issue of financing, as the 39 SIDS member nations suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change despite their low levels of carbon emissions.

According to the academic program of the event, strategies will be studied during the sessions to improve access to climate financing through innovations such as the multidimensional vulnerability index and the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage, among others, to ensure that SIDS can enjoy a sustainable future resilient to climate change.

On Tuesday, during the second day of the Conference, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, stressed that international financing is the fuel for sustainable development, but he warned that small island states are being left empty, drowned by debt and the increase in the sea level due to climate change which is not their fault.

SIDS are paying more to service their debt than they invest in health and education, leaving them unable to make the investments they need to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, Guterres said, warning that many of the island states are classified as middle-income, which excludes them from the debt support reserved for poorer nations.

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