PM TELLS OF PACIfiC REALITIES
The COP23 president believes that, as enshrined in the Ocean Pathway Partnership, climate change is inextricably linked to the health of the ocean, long an important natural resource for the Pacific. Our message is being received, I believe, but it is being disregarded by some because some people prefer to surrender to a pleasant fantasy then confront and overcome a very unpleasant truth. Voreqe Bainimarama Prime Minister
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says those who do not accept the reality of climate change are forces that are only capable of thinking in the short term. Speaking on Saturday at the closeddoor Summit of the 8th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM8) Mr Bainimarama called for urgent action to address issues such as dying coral reefs and fish stock migration.
“Our message is being received, I believe, but it is being disregarded by some because some people prefer to surrender to a pleasant fantasy then confront and overcome a very unpleasant truth,” Mr Bainimarama said.
The COP23 president believes that, as enshrined in the Ocean Pathway Partnership, climate change is inextricably linked to the health of the ocean, long an important natural resource for the Pacific.
Mr Bainimarama was addressing Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, along with leaders from 13 other Pacific Island countries with representation from Australia, French Polynesia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.
He urged them to display the political will to help meet the “ambitious” goal of limiting the global rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
“At the current level of commitment, we may still see warming of at least three degrees by the end of the century,” Mr Bainimarama said.
“Even limiting warming to 1.5 degrees probably won’t be enough to avoid social, economic and environmental disasters (linked to climate change).”
Japan and the other PIC leaders pledged at PALM8 to use their global influence to achieve this goal.
They reiterated their commitment to the Paris Agreement and said they continue to advocate for the “talanoa” dialogue.
Mr Bainimarama said: “So, it is clear that limiting the increase in global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius must be more than a dream.
“It must be more than a vague hope for the future. It must be a commitment.
“That is our mission in the COP negotiations and it is the only way to prevent catastrophe for the whole world and especially for vulnerable nations like our own.”
At the summit Mr Bainimarama also joined other PIC leaders in adopting a unified declaration urging North Korea to end its nuclear and ballistic missile programme.