Fiji's Prime Minister has urged leaders gathering on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to do more to combat the impacts of climate change.
Frank Bainimarama Photo: RNZ/ALEX PERROTTET
Frank Bainimarama told a climate change event that he was there to urge leaders who represent 2.4 billion of the 7.5 billion people on earth to use their power as political leaders to tackle this crisis head on and to raise their ambition for climate action for the sake of this generation and generations to come.
Mr Bainimarama said while countries had made commitments under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they could and should do more than they are currently obliged to do.
He said he is continuing his push for a target of limiting the increase in global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above that of the pre-industrial age.
Mr Bainimarama said this will likely require at least net zero emissions of carbon pollution by 2050.
But he told the meeting that the present offerings are woefully inadequate and nowhere near what is required.
The Fiji Prime minister, who is also president of the climate COP23 movement, said the world had instead effectively committed themselves to an average global temperature of at least three degrees higher by century's end.
He said the consequences of this would be truly catastrophic, not just for those nations that are vulnerable now but the entire world.