PACIFIC VUVALE CALL ON BIGGER NATIONS TO ACT NOW AGAINST THE WRATH OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama took center stage today (1st November, 2021) at the COP 26 World Leaders Summit and demanded large-emitting countries to accelerate their ambitious climate actions that are sustainable for the future of the Pacific and the future of our planet.
In a powerful statement, Prime Minister Bainimarama said the survival of the Pacific is under threat and empty promises of mid-century ambition are not enough.
“All high-emitting countries must half global emissions by 2030. The G20 nations who are prepared to make those commitments must demand the same from others. We have moral authority, you have a moral obligation,” he said.
“Together, our coalition of the willing can keep 1.5 alive, keep low-lying island nations above water, keep erratic and severe weather from devastating us all, and keep the trust between nations so that we can keep faith that our children and grandchildren will have a future. That includes making good on the promise of $100 billion in climate finance.”
The Prime Minister made it clear on the international stage that the Pacific nations have not travelled to the other end of the world to watch our future sacrificed at the altar of appeasement of the world’s worst emitters.
“The existence of our low-lying neighbours is not on the negotiating table. 1.5 is alive. It is possible. Humanity does not lack the resources, technology, projects, or innovative potential to achieve it. All that is missing is the courage to act, the courage to choose our grandchildren’s future over shareholder greed and corporate carbon-driven interests,” he said.
“What more fitting place than the United Kingdom- the birthplace of the industrial age-to summon the will to secure the commitments that begin a cleaner, greener and bluer revolution.”
The Head of the Fijian Government, on behalf of the Pacific, voiced his frustrations at how some bigger countries are not seriously considering climate ambitious targets.
“These leaders make pledges but won’t show us plans. They even seek to spin the science. But we cannot let them write out the urgency of accelerating action. Clean coal, responsible natural gas, and ethical oil are all figments of the selfish mind. No matter what they call them, carbon emissions are wrecking the climate. There’s nothing clean, natural or ethical about it,” he said.
“Other leaders pursue a policy of appeasement. They sit idly by as their high-emitting counterparts destroy our children’s futures. The science is clear, ladies and gentlemen, no city, no community, and no ecosystem will be spared from the reckoning that lies beyond 1.5 degrees of warming, including our oceans, the lungs of the planet.
“We are losing the race to net-zero to a coalition of carbon addicts who would rather fight for coal than for a future of good jobs and innovative industries created by climate ambition.
“We have fallen so far off course that only bold and courageous action will suffice. 2060 is too late.”
The World Leaders Summit, convened by the UK Prime Minister Mr. Boris Johnson, is an opportunity provided for world Leaders to deliver concrete actions and credible plans aimed at achieving successful COP goals and coordinated action to tackle climate change.