New SNIJ Climate Coalition Gives Voice to Underrepresented Island Territories
Members of the Island Innovation team at #GSIS2025 in Saint Kitts and Nevis, last month. Express your interest in the Global Sustainable Islands Summit 2026 in Gran Canaria next year.
Last week, the Island Innovation team attended the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice (France), participating in key discussions that are shaping the future of marine governance and island resilience. UNOC3 underscored both the scale of global ambition for marine conservation and the persistent gap between commitment and implementation.
Over the course of five intensive days, discussions centred on one critical issue: equity, not only in access to climate finance but in decision-making that shapes the future of island and coastal communities.
Through James Ellsmoor (CEO of Island Innovation), Arianna Abdul-Nour (Sustainable Development Manager and Sustainable Ocean Alliance Young Ocean Leader) and Adam Ó Ceallaigh (Sustainable Economic Development Manager), contributed to the dialogue by participating in key sessions, including: one, in collaboration with SMILO and GLISPA, focused on strengthening island resilience through community-driven Marine Protected Areas; the other, with ODI Global, Expertise France, the UK FCDO and UNCTAD, explored how ocean inequities, particularly governance gaps and limited access to finance, continue to hold back Big Ocean States.
Context of Global Ocean Ambition
The conference coincided with major announcements that underscore the global significance of island territories, particularly Sub-National Island Jurisdictions (SNIJs) like French Polynesia. President Moetai Brotherson announced plans for the world’s largest marine protected area, spanning 4.8 million square kilometres – nearly 23% of the archipelago’s waters.French Polynesia’s announcement alone allows France, whose maritime domain covers 11 million km2 (the second largest in the world), to increase the proportion of its waters under protection to 78 percent, a broad term that includes areas where activity restrictions are minimal.
Indeed, the conference demonstrated the critical role of Sub-National Island Jurisdictions (SNIJs) in global ocean conservation, particularly their ability to bridge the disconnect between international commitments and actual marine protection implementation. This recognition set the stage for a major announcement from Island Innovation.
The Rise of Coordinated SNIJ Action
The press conference announcing the Sub-National Island Jurisdictions (SNIJ) Climate Coalition was the centerpiece of our participation. This groundbreaking international alliance, developed in partnership with the Government of Curaçao, the Special Envoy for Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius, and the Nevis Island Administration, emerged from the 1st Forum on Climate Finance for Sub-National Island Jurisdictions during the Global Sustainable Islands Summit 2025 in Nevis. The initiative addresses a critical void in international climate governance by uniting island territories that, despite their outsized contributions to marine conservation, often lack adequate representation in global forums due to their unique constitutional status.
The press conference highlighted how SNIJs like Curaçao, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and the Azores all face significant barriers in accessing climate financing and international support. The Coalition represents a new benchmark for how these communities can leverage their collective voice to demand recognition and resources proportional to their environmental stewardship.
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| Looking Forward |
| Beyond our Coalition announcement, the conference produced the Nice Ocean Action Plan adopted by consensus, which represents progress, but as James noted, “The real measure of success won’t be the declarations signed this week, but whether the voluntary commitments translate into measurable outcomes over the next decade.” The SNIJ Climate Coalition will provide a framework for ensuring these communities have the representation and resources needed to turn ambitious conservation goals into lasting impact. |
| Amplifying Island and Youth Voices on the global stage |
During the conference week, our team welcomed Clémence Cormier, a youth representative from the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. A passionate ocean advocate working within the islands’ maritime sector, Clémence is also a proud member of the Overseas Countries and Territories Youth Network of the European Commission.
Read about Clémence’s experience
| Additional Island Developments at UNOC |
This week’s highlights
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