Select committee: International Development Committee
Recommendation 16
Fourth Report - The UK Small Island Developing States Strategy
Published 1 May 2024
Paragraph 49
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
International Development Committee UK Small Island Developing States Strategy All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
In the light of the ILC’s impending report on the topic, the UK Government should commit to working with like-minded states to explore ways of (i) formally recognising the continuity of Small Island Developing States’ legal statehood, should all their The UK Small Island Developing States Strategy 43 inhabitable land disappear due to sea-level rise and (ii) recognising countries’ legal maritime zone boundaries as fixed, even if their coastlines retreat due to sea level rise.
From: International Development Committee, Fourth Report - The UK Small Island Developing States Strategy (HC 476), paragraph 49, 1 May 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 13 January 2025 (deadline 1 July 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government's response marks recommendations as "Agree", "Partly Agree", "Disagree" or "No longer relevant/Overtaken", including agreement on Green Climate Fund access, a "Disagree" on new Loss and Damage Fund pledges, and a commitment to submit a progress report as part of a SIDS Strategy refresh.
- On Green Climate Fund access, the response marks "Agree" and says the UK "remains focused on the GCF achieving the commitments set out in its 2024–27 Strategic Plan, including enhancing the speed and simplicity of access to the Fund".
- On new Loss and Damage Fund pledges the response says "Disagree", stating that the UK "will consider whether to contribute further funds once progress has been made on an operating model and resource allocation".
- On multi-year programmes ("Partly Agree"), the response says they "will always be subject to financial allocations within the Spending Review context", and agreements with partners "must feature break clauses" where they span different periods.
- On maritime baselines ("Partly Agree"), the UK "has changed its position to accept" that baselines under UNCLOS "may remain fixed in law", and says it is "considering" the Pacific Islands Forum statehood declaration "in detail".