SDG News’ Heeta Lakhani interviews Palau’s National Climate Change Coordinator Xavier Matsutaro on the stalled MutiRão package, presidency-led text drafting, and why Small Island States say 1.5°C is now a matter of survival — not theory.
Belém — As rain began to fall over the COP30 venue, the summit’s tempo shifted into the tense, uncertain rhythm that often defines the midpoint of Week 2. Delegates clustered in corridors, phones buzzing with delayed text updates from the presidency. Inside this atmosphere, SDG News Chief Correspondent Heeta Lakhani spoke with Xavier Matsutaro, Palau’s Head of Delegation and National Climate Change Coordinator, about where negotiations stand — and what is at stake for small island states.
Matsutaro, measured but firm, offered a window into the slow-moving machinery of the MutiRão package, the presidency’s backroom drafting process, and why Small Island States now describe themselves not as frontline nations but as communities already living inside the climate crisis.
“We’re at the point where we’re talking substance, but still waiting for the text.”
Asked where the talks stand, Matsutaro outlined the complexity behind this year’s negotiations. Four agenda items proposed by parties never made it formally onto the agenda — instead, they were folded into various workstreams now overseen by the COP30 presidency.
He listed them:
- NDCs and the response to the synthesis report — essential for closing the 1.5°C gap
- Article 9.1 finance — public finance from developed to developing countries
- Unilateral measures — trade restrictions that some parties say are blocking progress
- BTRs (Biennial Transparency Reports) — crucial because they show what countries actually delivered against their commitments
Up until two days ago, countries were debating the substance of these issues. Now they are arguing over how to move them forward in a balanced way across agenda items.
“There has to be harmonization between the presidency consultations and the workflow happening in the workstreams,” he said.
A misalignment in one track risks derailing others.
By yesterday, the first iteration of the text was produced. Countries provided their feedback. Now everyone is waiting for the update.
“It was supposed to be circulated at 7 or 9am. Then I saw 12. And now… nothing. It’s 3pm. We’re still waiting.”
How the presidency drafts text — and why it matters
Lakhani pressed Matsutaro on who is actually drafting the new version of the MutiRão text.
He explained the behind-the-scenes process rarely visible to the public:
“It’ll be a combination of the presidency and the UN Secretariat… sometimes consulting co-facilitators of the thematic areas.”
If needed, the presidency may call in negotiating blocs to get clarity, especially where red lines conflict. This helps them write bridging text.
It is a delicate negotiation choreography — one that determines what ends up in the final MutiRão package.
What SIDS need in the MutiRão package
When asked what a strong outcome would look like from a small island perspective, Matsutaro didn’t hesitate.
“For us, the NDC is a top priority. We need ambition for 1.5°C not to be breached.”
The latest scientific assessments are clear, he said:
the world is way off track, and course correction is urgent.
He added:
- The BTR has legitimacy and must be included.
- Article 9.1 finance and unilateral measures matter deeply to specific groups of countries.
- Some parties want unilateral measures to dominate the entire outcome — but that cannot happen.
“You have to have all four. They’re interlinked. They’re not mutually exclusive.”
The task now is to balance them in a way that protects the collective priorities of vulnerable countries — especially the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
“We’re beyond the front lines — we’re already living in it.”
At the end of the conversation, Matsutaro spoke with a seriousness shaped by lived experience, not abstract projections.
“I think the narrative that we’re on the front lines — we’re way past that. We’re already living in it.”
He listed recent impacts:
- Hurricane Melissa
- Last week’s typhoon that devastated the Philippines and struck Palau
- Sea levels that once spiked once a decade now rising twice a month
- Coral reef systems oscillating between “massive bleaching” and fragile resilience
These ecosystems, he said, form the foundation of Palau’s livelihoods. Losing them would be catastrophic.
“Should the narrative be mission 1.5 or rescue 1.5?”
Either way, he said, emissions cuts must accelerate immediately.
Two days left — and hope is still on the table
As the interview ended, Lakhani noted that only two and a half days remain until COP30 closes.
Matsutaro nodded.
“As long as we keep hope and keep at it, I think we stand a chance.”
He offered to return for a follow-up once the next text drops — assuming the presidency releases it in time.
RELATED STORIES:
Follow SDG News on LinkedIn
