In his speech during the opening plenary, Dabwido evaluated the potential problems faced by islands in the Pacific Ocean resulting from rising sea levels.
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Dabwido's first major international meeting as president was at the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, as a representative of the Pacific Islands grouping of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Its founding members were Kieren Keke (a medical doctor), David Adeang (a legal counsel and former finance minister), Marlene Moses (former health minister), Roland Kun (director of the island's fisheries), Sean Oppenheimer (manager of Capelle's, the country's largest private enterprise), who has since resigned from the party due to death threats, and Sprent Dabwido (an insurance worker).