Pacific nations speaking with united voice

PACIFIC – A spokesperson from the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme says the Paris Agreement represents a great first step in the global commitment to addressing climate change.

However, SPREP’s Dr Tommy Moore says there is still a lot more that needs to be done to achieve that goal.

Last year’s Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation came into effect on Friday, November 4.

It aims to arrest the global economy’s addiction to fossil fuels and limit a rise in average world temperatures to “well below” two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.

Dr Moore told Radio New Zealand’s Dateline Pacific Pacific countries must continue to lobby for change using their united voice.

“The Pacific has had a lot of success, particularly at the climate change negotiations, by moving with a united front and having the one Pacific voice – and being part of the Alliance of Small Island States, so that their concerns are more amplified and have more weight.

“And then by focusing on issues such as the intention of the Paris Agreement to increase the ambition of carbon reduction as soon as possible and to reach a maximum carbon emissions globally as soon as possible.

“These are all targets I think that the Pacific needs to encourage the rest of the world to push for and to lead on.

“The conditional thing is that, under the Paris Agreement, developed countries have agreed to provide and marshall financing to help developing countries.

“While no concrete number was given under the Green Climate Fund, there is an agreement to provide $100 billion a year from 2020 until 2025 to developing countries, and then after 2025 to increase that level of financing.

“So the avenue for Pacific island countries is to make sure they’re in a place to access this climate change financing to address their needs.

DATELINE PACIFIC: Speaking of that united voice, each of the Pacific Island countries is more potent, more powerful if they continue to speak with a united voice but where is their voice best heard to effect positive change on climate change?

“Currently the Pacific islands are on their way to the UNFCCC council of parties meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco – the UN negotiation on climate change held every year and this is where they’ve had their most success.

“Other areas where the Pacific islands have engaged is in the UN General Assembly and just from speaking coherently at national, regional and other international fora.

DATELINE PACIFIC: So going to Marrakesh this time, what is on the agenda, what is the goal for the Pacific island states?

“One big thing on the agenda is the ratification of the Paris Agreement. That wasn’t expected to happen this year. In addition to that, there’s discussions on ‘loss and damage’.

“And if there’ll be an agreement on that, under ‘loss and damage’ there would be a mechanism for particularly small island countries that have suffered financial or physical losses due to climate change to seek compensation.

“Other things are issues like climate change refugees. If conditions get much worse this will be a growing problem and under the ratification of Paris Agreement there will be, every five years, a review of countries’ nationally determined contributions in which they’re required to report on what they’ve done and to submit new and hopefully more ambitious goals.’