Papua New Guinea cannot be a mere victim to climate change anymore.
It’s time the country joins forces with other Pacific Island countries and stand up against climate change as warriors do.
This agenda is being pushed by a group of youth who are considered the Pacific Climate Warriors.
A brief interview with David Ropa stressed on the initiative for the Pacific Climate Warriors’ Declaration on Climate Change.
He urged more women and children to sign this declaration, as they are the most affected during times of disasters.
“While many people see climate change as an environmental issue, I see it as a human rights issue because people’s lives are directly affected by it,” he said.
Ropa made note of the Carteret Islands situated north-east of Bougainville in the South Pacific, saying that PNG has the first climate refugees.
“It’s a human right to have an identity, a sense of belonging. The situation with Carteret is due to the action of the population at large, when we allow our actions to destroy the environment that we live in,” he said.
Ropa stressed that climate change is for everyone because it affects all – from the islands to the inlands.
The declaration is available and can be signed online (www.haveyoursei.org).
(Carteret islanders – Picture: ABC)