“Underrepresented but Heavily Affected”: Overseas Territories Demand More Influence in the Fight Against Climate Change

Tokyo – 03.06.2026: On the occasion of the island states summit on the oceans, taking place on June 3 and 4, 2026, in Tokyo, representatives of the French overseas territories have called for greater consideration of their specific challenges in climate protection. These regions are especially affected by the impacts of climate change, although they often receive little attention internationally.

The summit, organized by the Nippon Foundation in cooperation with the UNESCO Commission for Oceanography (COI), aims to strengthen sustainable planning and management of the oceans and to increase resilience to climate change. France is participating in this meeting as an observer.

Representatives of the French overseas territories emphasized the urgency of incorporating their specific needs and challenges into the global climate protection dialogue. These regions are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, including rising sea levels, more frequent and intense tropical storms, and the destruction of coastal ecosystems. Despite their geostrategic importance and the fact that they host about 80% of French biodiversity, their voices are often overlooked at the international level.

The French government has previously undertaken initiatives to support these territories. For example, in June 2025, the 6th Pacific-France Summit was held in Nice, where a strengthened commitment to climate protection and the resilience of island states was emphasized. Moreover, since September 2025, Météo-France has provided new climate projections for the overseas territories to enable better adaptation to climate change.

Despite these efforts, the challenge remains to more strongly include the overseas territories in international climate protection measures. Therefore, representatives of the overseas territories call for intensified cooperation and stronger recognition of their specific needs in the global climate protection process.

The summit in Tokyo offers an opportunity to discuss these concerns at the highest level and to take concrete measures to strengthen the resilience of island states to the impacts of climate change. The French overseas territories hope that their voices will carry more weight in this context and that their specific challenges will be adequately taken into account.

The international community faces the task of combating climate change globally while considering the needs of all affected regions, especially the particularly vulnerable island states. Only through an inclusive and equitable approach can effective adaptation to climate change be achieved.

Therefore, the French overseas territories rely on enhanced international cooperation and concrete measures to increase their resilience to the challenges of climate change and to bring their specific needs into the global climate protection dialogue.

The summit in Tokyo represents an important step in this direction and could pave the way for stronger inclusion of the overseas territories in future climate protection strategies.