Mr Chairman,
Let me begin by congratulating you on your appointment as Chair of G77 Plus China and pass on my best wishes for your success in the year ahead.

I’ve spoken in this forum in the past on the Fijian journey towards a more equitable, just and fair society. Owed to that commitment, Fiji’s progress in recent years has been defined by its inclusiveness and its sustainability. We’ve done more than grow our economy for a record nine straight years. We’ve actually made certain that our growth is benefitting every Fijian through a programme of resilient infrastructure development, record investments towards education, a dramatic widening of our social safety net, expanded access to healthcare, digitising government services, and by attracting new industries, new investment and new, higher paying job opportunities for our people. 

Many of us in this room can point to similar advances. But all of our progress, regardless of where we are in the world, regardless of what resources we have at our disposal, is put at extreme risk by the devastating potential of climate change. For vulnerable nations, all of our progress can be wiped away by a single climactic event, and that is a disturbing reality that I have highlighted repeatedly during my term as the President of COP23. 

Greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced on a global scale. And whether you’re a small island state, or a large industrial power, we must all do more than our fair share if we are to avert climate catastrophe for our planet. And I speak for every Fijian, every Pacific Islander, and for the billions of climate-vulnerable people the world over when I say: we are not doing enough, we can and we must do more. 

That is why Fiji is calling for greater ambition in climate action plans from all countries through the Talanoa Dialogue. We’ve held hundreds of Talanoa Dialogues already with great success, including in Bonn, Suva and San Francisco. And I’m proud to stand here today following our announcement that Fiji and the Republic of the Marshall Islands have become the first two countries in the world to signal our unreserved intention to raise the ambition of our Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement by 2020. That’s our commitment, and that’s our expectation for every member of this Forum, and for every nation on earth. 

But it isn’t enough to tackle emissions alone, we need to redirect resources to build resilience across climate vulnerable economies, we must develop financing that helps vulnerable countries build resilience and introduces insurance mechanisms to protect people’s homes and businesses against climate-related disasters. 

We deeply appreciate the strong support of the nations represented here today for the process of implementing the Paris Agreement, that support must continue. And I look forward to working with all of the G77 Plus China to urgently raise the ambition of our commitments under the Paris Agreement, for the sake of our economies, and for every person on the planet. 

Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.