The Cook Islands Prime Minister is calling on the international finance community to recognise the debt small island states are taking on for climate adaptation and mitigation.
Mark Brown said because the world's largest emitters refuse to phase out coal and because COP26 failed to deliver any positive climate finance outcomes, countries like his have to dig deep into their own pockets to prepare themselves for the impact of climate change.
Mr Brown said as the Cook Islands is classed as a middle income country, it does not have access to the climate support accorded to low income countries.
Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown. Photo: Sprep/Cook Islands Government
And he said all this is on top of the economic strain countries are already facing because of the pandemic.
"So for us the inevitability of opening up is there before us. It's either opening up by choice or opening up by necessity.
And we've looked at the 13th of January our time which is 14th of January New Zealand as the date when we will allow passengers back into the country," the prime minister said.
Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown spoke to Koroi Hawkins on Pacific Waves
Cooks getting ready to welcome vaccinated Kiwis
Meanwhile, the Cook Islands prime minister said preparations to welcome travellers from New Zealand in the New Year are well underway.
Quarantine-free travel between the two countries is scheduled to reopen on January the 14th.
Mark Brown said on the New Zealand end travellers have to be double vaxxed and show proof of a negative covid test before departure.
Rarotonga Airport. Photo: Airport Authority Cook Islands
And in the Cook Islands Mr Brown said a lot of work has gone into achieving 98 percent Covid-19 vaccination coverage with health authorities looking to roll out booster shots when they become available in February or March.
"So for us the inevitability of opening up is there before us. It's either opening up by choice or opening up by necessity. And we've looked at the 13th of January our time which is 14th of January New Zealand as the date when we will allow passengers back into the country."
The Cook Islands is also working to attract tourism workers ahead of the reopening of the travel bubble with New Zealand next year because a labour shortage within the tourism industry is a concern.
Muri Lagoon, off Rarotonga, is one of the Cook Islands' tourism hotspots Photo: RNZI / Sally Round
Mark Brown said prior to the pandemic the Cook Islands had been able to hire internationally from places like the Phillipines and Fiji.
"But we are working on some solutions to try and address those issues, to try and attract workers who have gone to New Zealand to be able to come back and work here.
But we will also be looking at opportunities for specialised flights maybe to Fiji to try and recruit workers to be able to come and work in the industry here," he said.