“We are gearing up for the biggest struggle Pacific Islanders have ever faced - the fight for our survival.”
This is the comment made by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while welcoming about 300 delegates to the 2015 Pacific Islands Development Forum summit at GPH.
Bainimarama says they intend to take that fight with other islands and low lying nations all the way to Paris and do everything in their power to get the world to finally sit up and take notice.
He says nations of the world have a stark choice to make in Paris, to take decisive action to reduce their own carbon emissions and agree on internationally binding cuts to arrest the current rate of global warming.
Bainimarama says he calls this the coalition of the selfish for those nations putting their carbon polluting industries or resources and the health of their economies before the welfare of everyone.
He adds that is also time for the Australian government to stop undermining the PIDF by actively lobbying regional governments and regional leaders not to attend.
Issues to be tabled in the PIDF will be taken to Paris for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Meanwhile, Bainimarama paid sympathy for the terrorist attack in Bangkok on the 17th of August which killed 20 people and injured more than 120 people.
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