TARAWA – The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, an outspoken advocate for global action on climate change, said the agreement reached at the COP21 climate summit was a “major achievement”.

“It’s a very positive step forward and of course, what was most gratifying was the position of the countries that we had thought would have taken a very negative position,” he told the ABC.

All 195 countries that attended the summit approved the agreement, which aims to limit temperature increases to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The agreement also references the “urgent need” to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.

The text does not mandate specific measures or targets. Instead, it creates a system for ensuring countries make good on voluntary domestic efforts to curb emissions.

President Tong, who is in Morocco for another round of climate talks, said it was “absolutely vital” that leaders followed through on the targets agreed upon in Paris.

“I think it’s absolutely vital. Of course, it’s part of the reason why we are here in Morocco, to discuss perhaps what should be coming up at the next meeting, how the commitments that were made from Paris could be followed up and how they can be translated into concrete action,” he said.

“There was very clear acknowledgement of the special circumstances of the most vulnerable countries on the front line of climate change.

“We are hoping that in spite of the lack of clarity in the wording, there is this very clear understanding that if it comes to building up climate resilience and adaptation and just recovery, we are hopeful that the countries that made a commitment will deliver.”

Countries such as Kiribati and Fiji have long argued for a 1.5°C cap to ensure their countries survive extreme weather events and rising sea levels, while industrial nations have favoured the 2°C limit.

President Tong said the summit’s adoption of the 1.5°C target was a victory.

“I think at the start of the discussions, quite a number of countries did not go for the 1.5°C increase, but by the end of the discussions the miracle did happen,” he said.

Much to everyone’s surprise, a 1.5-degrees-Celsius target survived the gauntlet of UN climate change negotiations.

“Even Australia, we felt, was supporting that. The environment and perhaps the chairmanship, the presidency at the conference, was of course very instrumental.

“But Australia was very active, we noted that. And of course the US, and a number of other countries that initially were a bit negative.”

Negotiators have said the long-term push by island nations was instrumental in bringing the 1.5°C target to prominence.

Australia signed on to the 1.5 degree target when it cut a deal with St Lucia, a Caribbean island nation, to back the target in exchange for being allowed to carry over its savings from the Kyoto Protocol.

President Tong said the agreement, if followed through, will mean future Kiribatians will have a future.

“I think we should be careful in being too sceptical by what has taken place,” he said.

“I think it’s been very, very significant and it sets the bottom line – it establishes the basis of the foundation of what future behaviour on energy should be.

“I know we did not get 100 per cent of what it was that we went for, but nevertheless I think what’s happened – in the circumstances, could not have been better.” - ABC