Pacific leaders make their point clear on climate change

Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) ---Delegates also heard how the COP 21 meeting in Paris also needs to recognise how Climate Change will displace Pacific Islanders.

A panel of Pacific Island leaders stressed this during a talanoa session on Climate Change and Migration Thursday.

“The question is, it’s not always about what we take to Paris as important, what is possibly more important what we will come away from Paris with. We really want to come away from Paris with some clear guarantees that something is going to be done that will ensure our future generations will have a chance of survival,” said  Kiribati President Anote Tong. 

Pacific Island leaders agreed they must continue to work in solidarity as they are the most vulnerable to relocation.

“We cannot allow others to say okay we will relocate you to other lands but we don’t have a strong Paris agreement, because its okay we will look after you. I think that is very dangerous. We must continue to seek legally binding ambitious and strong decisions to come out of Paris because failing that we’ve all failed altogether,” said Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. 

And dealing with climate change in innovative ways should also continue to be looked into.

“We also need as much innovation as possible and I think there should be more exploring. What are the possibilities for islands to remain the homes for people who want to remain there. If those who want to migrate let them migrate with dignity, but for those who want to remain that they should have the right to remain let them use their fundamental right,” said Mary Robinson, UN Special Envoy for Climate Change.

Meanwhile, the  reality of what Pacific Island nations could expect in the United Nation Climate Change Summit in November was discussed.

Getting an inside knowledge of what they should expect in the upcoming UN Climate Change summit.

PIDF members were given what they should expect in this meeting in Paris.

For small Pacific Island nations – they heard what they were not expecting.

“Many developing countries are not seeking to development using fossil fuel and then cut down the emission that result you are seeking to development without emission when the damage is real to infrastructure and the heart breaking realities of people been force to migrate from their lives,” said  Robinson.

Robinson challenged the many leaders present.

“As political leaders you can make it clear that climate finance offers the power to change this reality it is not about the number on the pages it is about creating new choice for people this human reality sometimes,” said Robinson.

There is a strong feeling that some of the developed countries in the world will have a strong reservation on some of the issues that PIDF countries will bring in to the meeting in Paris.

“There is arrangement for people who may displace by the impact of climate change and there is an issue about compensation for permanent losses there is a lot of resistance and US is strongly oppose to. But quite frankly we are committed to finance, we are committed to adaption, we can finance under adaption with loss and damage in the agreement that will create a very serious problem for us in the US in the terms of financing,” said  PIDF Climate Change Advisor, Dr Mahendra Kumar. 

There is hope that PIDF leaders now have an overview of what are the key issues that will be discussed in the Paris meeting.