The Seychelles Environment Minister, Mr. Flavien Joubert represented Seychelles at the 3rd Voice of Global South Summit, hosted by India. This virtual summit, under the theme “An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future,” brought together nations of the Global South to discuss critical global issues, particularly climate change.
Honouring Seychelles’ participation, the Minister expressed deep gratitude to the Government of India and His Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their leadership in capacity-building, technology transfer, and support for environmental stewardship across the Global South.
“Our entire existence depends on our natural capital,” the Minister emphasized, calling for urgent action on climate finance for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Seychelles. The Minister reiterated that Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action) remains pivotal to achieving the broader SDGs, stressing that every delay in curtailing emissions translates into lost livelihoods and ecosystem degradation.
Seychelles continues to lead by example, embedding climate sustainability as a national priority through our 5-Year National Development Strategy, focusing on areas like agriculture, food security, and the sustainable management of natural resources.
Seychelles has been at the forefront of climate finance innovation, pioneering initiatives such as:
- Debt-for-Nature Swap – the first of its kind in 2014, creating predictable funding for environmental action.
- Blue Bonds– introduced in 2018 to protect marine biodiversity, now inspiring similar efforts globally.
The Minister reinforced the importance of partnerships between public entities, civil society, and the private sector and called for stronger collaboration in climate finance mobilization within the Global South.
Seychelles remains committed to working with international partners to bridge the climate funding gap and ensure sustainable development for all.