Pacific Islands lash out at COP28 presidency: ‘We weren’t in the room’ when deal was announced

Representatives of Pacific Island states expressed frustration and disappointment at the final outcome of the COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates, saying they were left out of the plenary room when the concluding deal was decided.

“We weren’t in the room when this decision was gavelled. And that is shocking to us,” Tina Stege, the climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, said Wednesday while speaking outside of the plenary.

Anne Rasmussen, the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), told the COP28 Presidency in a closing statement: “We are a little confused about what just happened.”

“It seems that you gavelled the decisions, and the small island developing states were not in the room. We were working hard to coordinate the 39 small island developing states that are disproportionally affected by climate change, and so were delayed in coming here,” she said.