The United Kingdom will continue to recognise a state even if it loses some or all of its land to rising sea levels, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific Baroness Winterton said in an opinion piece released by the British High Commission in Honiara on 5 October.

The piece, titled "A shared response to rising seas", was sent to media as a pre-COP message ahead of COP31 and the pre-conference meetings in Fiji and Tuvalu.

Winterton wrote that the UN General Assembly last month adopted the Sea Level Rise Declaration, which she described as the first time all UN member states have decided on a shared approach to sea level rise.

She said Pacific Island countries face the loss of homes, livelihoods and, in the starkest cases, their entire land, and that the declaration recognises the environmental, development, economic and legal challenges facing those most exposed to rising seas.

According to the piece, the UK worked with Small Island Developing States, Australia and Cabo Verde as drafters of the declaration, aiming for a text that is science-based and consistent with international law.

The UK also co-sponsored Vanuatu's campaign for an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on climate change, the piece said.

Winterton wrote that at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau she announced an additional £10 million, or about US$14 million, over three years for the Pacific Resilience Facility. The UK was an original Forum Dialogue Partner and became a formal Strategic Partner at this year's Forum.

The piece said the UK pledged £330 million, about US$437 million, to the ninth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility at the UN General Assembly, and committed to join a new ocean science programme led by the European Union to improve forecasting of extreme weather and climate events.

It also said UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband stressed at the General Assembly the need to pool information on risks and to manage shocks better.

Winterton wrote that sea level rise is happening now and will accelerate regardless of progress on emissions, and that the declaration and the support alongside it are meant to protect the rights, identity and dignity of those most affected.

She said the UK would continue to stand with its Pacific and Small Island Developing State partners, including by supporting their place at multilateral meetings and through programme and project work across the region.

The piece did not say how the £10 million for the Pacific Resilience Facility will be allocated or whether any of it is directed to Solomon Islands.