Opening Remarks by the Commonwealth Secretary-General at the London Climate Action Week: High-Level Ministerial Dialogue

Welcome to Marlborough House and thank you for joining us for this important conversation.   

Allow me to acknowledge the presence of a key leader and ally in the fight for sustainable development, Senator John Kerry. 

We are – as we always seem to be – at a critical point, meeting after Bonn and Mombasa, and before Antalya.  

This is a moment to take stock, but not to stand still. Our task today is to identify what has moved, what remains blocked, and what must now be carried across the line.The central fact is simple: there can be no credible climate strategy without the ocean. 

The ocean regulates our climate, sustains food systems and livelihoods, carries global trade, protects biodiversity and holds immense potential for clean energy and resilient growth. Yet it is absorbing the costs of a warming planet at a rate that is economically, environmentally and politically unsustainable. 

For the Commonwealth, this is urgent. Forty-nine of our 56 members have coastlines. Commonwealth countries steward around a third of the ocean under national jurisdiction. Twenty-five of our members are large ocean states, for whom the ocean is not a sector of the economy, but the foundation of national life. That gives the Commonwealth both a profound responsibility and a distinctive advantage. 

Our members span every ocean and every level of development. We bring together large and small states, advanced and emerging economies, climate-vulnerable countries and major centres of finance and innovation. We are connected by relationships, shared institutions and trust — the very assets needed to turn international ambition into coordinated action. 

And that is now the test. 

We have strong political foundations. The Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration commits all 56 member states to restore, protect and sustainably use the ocean. Mombasa has added momentum. The BBNJ Agreement has created new possibilities. But declarations and agreements are only as strong as the implementation they unlock. 

So this meeting should focus on three priorities. 

First, integration. Ocean action must sit at the heart of climate policy, national plans and the COP process — not at the margins. The science, diplomacy and finance must move together. 

Second, delivery. We need clearer pathways from commitments to investable projects: stronger policy frameworks, project preparation, technical capacity and instruments that share risk fairly. 

Third, justice. Large ocean states are protecting assets of global value while facing some of the highest costs of climate disruption. The vulnerability and stewardship of these countries must be recognised in accessing finance.  

The Commonwealth is ready to help bridge these gaps. Our ocean declaration is genuinely ground-breaking, and is a key part of the practical machinery of delivery that we are building.  

That includes our Blue Charter, our Climate Finance Access Hub, support for BBNJ implementation, new project-preparation grants and blue bond roadmaps for 23 countries. Our partnership with the COP29 Presidency is unlocking investment for our most vulnerable member states. We are backing good ideas early, filling the missing middle of ocean finance, and supporting countries scale ambition and impact.  

Each institution represented here today is a partner in that effort. But no institution, presidency or government can do this alone. 

The opportunity we have today in this room is to align political leadership across successive COP presidencies; connect global goals with national action; and bring governments, finance, science and communities into a more effective partnership. 

By the end of today, we should be clearer about what success at COP31 looks like, which obstacles must be removed, and who will act next. 

The ocean connects every country represented here. Our responsibility is to ensure that it also connects ambition to action.