PM concerned on climate change effects

Prime Minister James Marape is deeply concerned about the effect of climate change as it is also affecting many small islands of PNG, especially the Carteret Islands.

Marape raised this at the recent Pacific Island Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu where he presented Papua New Guinea’s view of the PIF Leaders’ meeting to marshal up the entire Pacific Islanders to remain as one family and solid, instead of fragmenting.

Marape has raised concerns that climate change is a crisis in the Pacific region.

He said he would be vocal about the issue when he attends the United Nations General Assembly Meeting in September.

Marape urged the PIF leaders to unite as one bloc so their voices can be heard globally.

“The ‘Paris Agreement’, with its central aim of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius was honoured during the meeting.”

The islanders are calling on all countries and non-state actors to join with the Blue Pacific in taking bold, decisive and transformative action to address the ever-present challenges of climate change.

The 50th Pacific Islands Forum was held in Funafuti, Tuvalu, from 13 – 16 August, and was attended by the Heads of State, Government and Territories of Australia, the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Fiji, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Niue, Palau and French Polynesia were represented by ministers.

(Prime Minister James Marape filepic)

Author: 
Freddy Mou