At COP31, the Prime Minister urges permanent climate commitments and international partnerships to turn The Bahamas’ vast seagrass ecosystems into a global climate solution.
ANTALYA, Türkiye — Prime Minister Philip Davis has challenged world leaders to move beyond promises and take responsibility for the global climate crisis. He points to The Bahamas’ Blue Carbon Programme as an example of how small island nations can lead in developing solutions that benefit the world.
“No one is coming to save us. We must save ourselves,” Prime Minister Davis declared in his National Statement to the High-Level Summit of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
“This is a call to action, not a cry of despair.”
The Prime Minister’s message was both a warning and a statement of intent. Countries most vulnerable to climate change cannot wait indefinitely for international commitments to be fulfilled. They must take proactive steps to protect their own futures while contributing to the global response.
For The Bahamas, that approach is taking shape through its Blue Carbon Programme, which aims to protect and unlock the climate value of the country’s extensive seagrass ecosystems.
The Bahamas is home to approximately 54,000 square kilometres of seagrass meadows, among the largest such ecosystems in the world. These underwater habitats absorb carbon dioxide and store it in marine sediments, making them a valuable natural resource in the fight against global warming.
By investing in the scientific, legal, and financial foundations needed to manage these ecosystems responsibly, The Bahamas is working to turn its natural assets into climate resilience, conservation financing, and sustainable economic opportunity.
The programme protects Bahamian waters and also contributes to global efforts to reduce atmospheric carbon, preserve biodiversity, and develop nature-based responses to climate change.
Prime Minister Davis said the country has already invested in the frameworks needed to advance the programme and is now seeking international partners to support its full implementation.
“We now need international partners to fully implement the programme, who will stay the course, whose commitment is not dictated by donor cycles or ideological trends,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the initiative marks a fundamental shift in how small island developing states approach their role in the global climate response.
“For a generation, the world has looked at Small Island States and regarded us as the first to follow,” he said.
“Look again.”
“With our Blue Carbon Programme, we will be the first to lead.”
From Climate Promises to Permanent Commitments
Prime Minister Davis warned that global climate action continues to fall short of what is required to address rising temperatures, sea-level rise, and increasingly destructive weather.
Eleven years after the Paris Agreement, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, while vulnerable nations struggle to access the financing needed to protect their communities and rebuild after climate disasters.
He argued that the international community has misunderstood a central weakness in its response. The problem is not only a lack of political will. It is the reliance on commitments made by individual leaders whose governments and priorities may change before those promises are fulfilled.
“We have been building a global response to an existential crisis based on individuals’ goodwill,” Prime Minister Davis said.
“Individuals come and go. That is the flaw at the heart of everything we have done.”
He noted that elections, changes in government, and shifting budget priorities often interrupt implementation, leaving countries to confront climate threats without the resources previously promised.
“Implementation is frustrated because we are the inheritors of promises made by persons who no longer occupy the seats of power,” he said.
The Prime Minister called for a new international approach built on continuity and permanence.
“Permanence means that financing must be automatic, not merely pledged,” he said.
“Permanence means that commitments must be enshrined in treaty and law, not just declarations and communiqués,” he added.
He also urged the international community to permanently recognize the special circumstances of Small Island Developing States within global financial and climate systems, rather than requiring vulnerable countries to justify their need for special consideration again and again.
Small Islands as Global Climate Leaders
Prime Minister Davis stressed that self-determination in the face of climate change should not be confused with isolation or with abandoning international cooperation.
“Self-determination should not mean ‘each nation for itself’,” he said.
“None of us, large or small, can meet this crisis on our own.”
He called for a model of climate leadership in which vulnerable nations develop solutions while international partners provide the sustained investment, expertise, and cooperation needed to bring those solutions to scale. The Bahamas Blue Carbon Programme reflects that approach.
Through scientific research, conservation planning, and financing frameworks, the country is laying the groundwork for long-term protection of marine ecosystems whose climate benefits reach far beyond its borders.
The initiative also creates room for international collaboration in marine science, environmental protection, sustainable finance, and the development of credible blue carbon markets.
For The Bahamas, the goal is to show that protecting the environment can also create lasting economic value for Bahamians, while contributing to the global effort to address climate change.
The Prime Minister’s address challenged the international community to match the initiative shown by vulnerable nations with the permanent commitments and reliable partnerships needed for meaningful results. Small island states, he said, should not be seen only as victims of climate change or recipients of aid, but as countries capable of helping to lead the world’s response.
With its Blue Carbon Programme, The Bahamas is working to show what that leadership looks like in practice.