Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says while there has been a great deal of agreement in Funafuti, Tuvalu during the 50th Pacific Islands Forum, it is clear that there are differences of opinion, emphasis and approach between the island nations and New Zealand, on the one hand, and Australia on the other.
Bainimarama says some of these differences inevitably weaken the strength of their collective position on the climate threat and it is disappointing that they could not achieve a unanimous consensus.
He says but he will continue to positively engage with their Australian friends and try to persuade them to make a more rapid transition from coal to energy sources that do not contribute to climate change.
Bainimarama adds he looks forward to his first official visit to Australia next month and to seeing, at first hand, some of the advances Australia is making in its energy transformation and renewable energy development.
He says Fiji welcomes the commitment by Pacific Islands Forum members to take whatever steps they determine necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, which is the only way to remain within the 1.5 degree threshold.
Bainimarama says as they have made clear, 1.5 is non‑negotiable for Pacific Island countries adding they will resist all attempts to derail it in global forums.
The Prime Minister says Pacific Islanders and climate‑vulnerable people the world over will welcome their collective declarations at the end of the 50th Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu on the urgent need for the world to step up its response to the climate threat.
He says there is no doubt that holding their gathering in one of the Pacific atoll nations whose very existence is threatened has focused the minds of the leaders on the scale of the disaster we face if the world fails to rise to this challenge.
ADVERTISEMENT
