VITAL IN OUR CLIMATE CHANGE SURVIVAL
pleased to report that in the first week of COP23, they had achieved a great deal of substance.
He said clear progress was being made on the implementation of the Paris Agreement. “The beginnings of a text are emerging. There is general agreement on the need for greater ambition. And certainly the mood at COP is a lot more positive than some might have expected given the challenges to the multilateral consensus on decisive action of which you are all aware.
“I certainly believe there is a growing appreciation that the only way for every nation to put itself first is to join hands with every other nation and tackle this problem head on. “And as I keep saying, the door is always open to those who are holding back to join us on our mission and move forward together.
“Friends, Fiji certainly thinks we have brought something to these negotiations that is both distinctive and effective. Many delegations are now referring to the “Bula Spirit” and the “Talanoa Dialogue” – two concepts we brought with us to Bonn that seem to resonate widely and have captured the imaginations of even the most cynical delegates.
“The Bula Spirit is simply a Fijian way of bringing our own tradition of friendliness and joy to what is a pretty sober process - working together as nations and people to tackle the most serious challenge of our age.
“Talanoa – a Pacific word for story telling has a more substantive purpose. It is to bring the Pacific tradition of decision-making based on respect and understanding to a negotiating