Transcript
Leading the charge was Fiji's prime minister Frank Bainimarama who will be co-hosting the upcoming UN climate change conference with Germany in Bonn.
The Paris agreement calls for global warming to be kept well under two degrees over that of the industrial age, and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees. A year ago, Mr President, I stood here for being appointed President of COP23 and called for 1.5 degrees to be our target, I meant it then and I mean it now.
The prime minister of Tuvalu supported the call to keep global temperatures from rising more than one-point-five degrees above pre-industrial levels citing the consequences for his country if this is not achieved.
Under current warming trends, our islands maybe submerged into the sea within the next few years, if and when this happens, we will be forced to abandon our islands, even though we are the least contributors to global warming and sea level rise.
The Marshall Islands' foreign minister John Silk called on the world's major carbon emitters to take tangible steps to reduce their emissions highlighting his own and other Pacific countries' efforts to lead by example.
Even with our limited resources, the Marshall islands is committed to not only to implementation but to explore where our own actions on energy can be strengthened, we must match our own vision on emissions which stronger approaches closer bilateral work.
The Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare described climate change as the defining challenge of our time and called for more countries to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement.
We call on all major emitters to meet there national determined contributions in reducing green house gas emissions and we strongly urge the USA to reconsider its position on the Paris climate accord.
Papua New Guinea's prime minister Peter O'Neill extended his condolences to the victims of Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean and the US and called on world leaders to wake up to the increased intensity and frequency of severe weather events around the world.
Climate Change is real and it is taking lives and destroying communities. It is putting the future of nations at real risk. The world needs to increase action now to make further commitments to reducing emissions and to helping communities by responding effectively to the climate change challenges.
Even Australia voiced its support, despite regional criticism of its status as the world's biggest exporter of coal as the worst form of carbon fuel. Its foreign minister Julie Bishop outlined Canberra's approach.
Australia is a strong supporter of the Paris agreement and here at the United Nations we have voiced our support, specifically on risk mitigation for coral reefs which are among the most valuable environments on our planet. Coral reefs sequester four times more carbon than forests and are a vital element in our global efforts to reduce emissions.
The Pacific will now turns its focus to COP 23 in Bonn where under Fiji's chairmanship world leaders will try and harness the political will to realise the full potential of the Paris Climate Agreement.
