East Sepik Governor Allan Bird says Papua New Guinea must present itself at the 26th UN Climate Change meeting (COP26) as ‘partners’ and not as ‘beggars’, in the fight against climate change and global warming.
His comments are directed to the delegation that is preparing to attend meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end of this month.
“From our perspective as Papua New Guineans we do not want to go there as victims. We want to go there as partners offering a solution to the world and not just running around with a bucket begging for help. I really think, we have something to offer the world,” said Governor Bird.
Governor Bird said the delegation must make the world understand the dynamics of our country.
“We have to understand that in Papua New Guinea, 97% of the land is owned by traditional landowners. If traditional landowners decide to sell their rainforest, as a government, I think we are largely powerless.
“We seriously need to talk with the rest of our people on this planet and we need to be very serious about how we have those discussions.
“We ought to make the world understand that they need to take this seriously,” added Governor Bird.
He said the COP26 will be an important engagement for Papua New Guinea.
“We have only one home and we all share it and we all need to take responsibility about how we look after it and how we make it last and how we hand it over to the next generation,” said Bird.
Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change Wera Mori will lead the delegation to Glasgow at the end of the month.