Fijian PM calls on world leaders to walk the talk

Fijian Prime Minister,Voreqe Bainimarama has delivered his out-going statement as the chair of the 71st United Nations Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) for Asia and the Pacific calling  on industrial nations to assist Fiji and the Pacific in achieving their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It was his final statement as the chair of last year’s 71st United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama made it known in the 72nd meeting in Bangkok that it has been all talk and no action shown by industrial nations when it comes to climate change.

“I come with a very sobering message today. That for all our talk of the 2030 Agenda, countries like Fiji have little or no hope of achieving their Sustainable Development Goals without the urgent assistance of the global community. We need immediate access to avenues of funding for climate adaptation – to build the resilience we must build to survive future events. Stronger homes, stronger infrastructure. And I urge you all to persuade your governments to place this at the top of the regional and global agenda,” said PM Bainimarama.

Bainimarama says history will judge the industrial nations very harshly if they leave small and vulnerable nations to their fate without extending much needed help.

“Fiji urgently needs to access avenues of finance to build our own resilience. Yet some of these avenues have been closed off to us because we have been officially designated a middle-income nation. In a very real sense, we are being punished for our success just when we need this funding most. I call for these impediments to be lifted as a matter of the utmost urgency. Because we know a repetition of Cyclone Winston is just around the corner and we need to be better prepared,” he said.

The Prime Minister appealing to the leading countries that they should finance climate adaptation and give the priority it deserves.

“The climate change resolution is a sign of our own determination to place this issue on the regional and global agenda. I call on you all to give this resolution your support. Because while we in the Pacific may be bearing the brunt of climate change, it is a global problem and undoubtedly the greatest challenge facing the world today. And we will all be judged by future generations on how effectively we in the here and now meet the current threat,” he mentioned.

Bainimarama used the opportunity to thank those who assisted Fiji during the aftermath of TC Winston.


SOURCE: FIJI TV