Climate Change

Immigration minister Peter Dutton was yesterday speaking with the country's Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, who had just returned from the Pacific Islands Forum Summit in Papua New Guinea, where climate change was a key focus.

Noting that the meeting was runing late, Mr Dutton remarked that it was running to "Cape York time", to which Mr Abbott replied, "we had a bit of that up in Port Moresby."

Mr Dutton then responded: "Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door," to which both Mr Dutton and Mr Abbott laughed.

Leaders of small island states maintained their position of temperature target of 1.5 degrees and loss and damage while Australia and New Zealand refused to budge from the 2 degrees target.

Tuvalu’s Prime Minister, Enele Sopoaga, one of the most vocal leader from the Smaller Island States told PACNEWS despite the Forum position, his country will push for the 1.5 degree target, loss and damage and an ambitious and legally binding target in Paris.

Peter Dutton was speaking with the country's Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, who had just returned from the Pacific Islands Forum Summit in Papua New Guinea, where climate change was a key focus.

Noting that the meeting was running late in audio broadcast by the ABC, Mr Dutton remarked that it was running to "Cape York time", to which Mr Abbott replied, "we had a bit of that up in Port Moresby."

Mr Dutton then responded:

"Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door [laughter]"

The communique was issued more than 12 hours after the end of Thursday's leaders' retreat.

The issue of the fisheries was the big winner from the leader's summit, while an acceptance of varying viewpoints marks the statement on climate change.

Koro Vaka'uta reports:

The comment from Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, comes after his fellow Pacific Islands Forum leaders failed to reach a unified position on the issue.

Most countries had wanted to push for a temperature increase over pre-industrial levels of less than 1.5 degrees celsius at the COP21 meeting in Paris.

But this was opposed by New Zealand and Australia and the Forum concluded with a weaker 'agree to disagree' position.

The 46th meeting of Pacific Island Forum leaders meeting ended with an agreement to disagree on the contentious issue of climate change and a change in approach to fisheries management.

Climate change in particular dominated the week's discussions between the 16 member countries gathered in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby.

Early on in the summit, conflicting views emerged as small island states like Kiribati and Palau reiterated their calls for greater action from the more developed nations like New Zealand and Australia on climate change.

The 46th meeting of Forum leaders ended with an agreement to disagree on the contentious issue of climate change.

Small island states like Kiribati and Palau had called for greater action from the likes of New Zealand and Australia

However both developed countries have made no commitments to reduce emissions further so that global temperatures didn't increase more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

They are sticking with the United Nations promoted limit of two degrees.

President Tong says he accepts their position.

This week its President Anote Tong told LOOP news the World Climate Change Meeting in Paris at the end of this year would be their last chance to get the world to listen to them.

He had hoped for Australia and New Zealand to make new commitments at the Pacific Island Forum meeting this week but  this did not happen 

 "Whether we accept it or not is a different question," he said.

“Those islands barely 2m above sea level were the ones on the "frontline" dealing with the issues of climate change,” he said.

The five issues were: climate change, fisheries, ICT, Cervical cancer and human rights abuses in West Papua

LOOP News understands there were some differences on positions by countries on West Papua and Climate change

Tony Abbott arrived in Port Moresby on Wednesday night after climate change dominated pre-retreat discussion among the other 15 leaders, with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill insisting there was strong support for the forum to have a “single position” on the issue.

O'Neill said the views already expressed in two pre-forum declarations supporting the 1.5 per cent target, rather than the 2 per cent preferred by Australia and New Zealand, would be “very seriously considered” at the retreat.