The President of Kiribati is calling for stronger leadership from the international community to address climate change.
Anote Tong is one of many Pacific representatives at the UN summit on Climate Change in New York.
Photo: RNZ
In his address to more than 100 world leaders Mr Tong said the time for stalling had gone.
"We continue to procrastinate. We continue to ignore what the science is telling us and indeed what we are witnessing with our own eyes. We know that in order for us to make meaningful progress in addressing the challenges of climate change there is a need for strong and decisive, global leadership. So we must get away from the 'wait-and-see-who-is-doing-what' style of leadership, for the sake of our children and their children."
The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong.