UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged the island nations of the Pacific to “show the way” in protecting the planet from the ravages of climate change.
Guterres made the call at the opening of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga on Monday, where he also called on the rest of the world to step up with more support.
He told the leaders that while much of the world was embroiled in conflict, injustice, and socio-economic crisis, the Pacific “is a beacon of solidarity and strength, environmental stewardship, and peace.”
The Forum consists of 18 Member States, from Australia to Vanuatu, guided by a long-term vision and a 2050 strategy for ensuring the health and wellbeing of all by working together “to leverage our collective strengths and build a better future.”
Guterres told the annual gathering that the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – built around the 17 Goals or SDGs – “is faltering.”
“The world has much to learn from you. It must also step up to support you,” he said,
He added that their region of “fearless seafarers, expert fishers, and deep ancestral knowledge of the ocean” is being treated “like a sewer” by humanity at large.
“Plastic pollution is choking sealife. Greenhouse gases are causing ocean heating, acidification, and rising seas. But Pacific islands are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet, and our ocean,” he said.
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He pointed to the region’s Declarations on Sea Level Rise and determination to have a just transition towards a fossil-fuel-free Pacific.
“The young people of the pacific have taken the climate crisis all the way to the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” he said.
According to him, while the pacific region is doing what it can, the G20 most industrialised nations – the biggest emitters of carbon – “must step up and lead, by phasing out the production and consumption of fossil fuels and stopping their expansion immediately.”
He stressed that the region urgently needed more financial support, capacities, and technology to speed up the transition to clean energy and so countries could invest in adaptation and resilience.
“That is why we have been calling for reform of the international financial architecture, a massive increase in the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks, debt relief programmes that work, and an enhanced redistribution of Special Drawing Rights, to benefit developing countries.”
He said the decisions on the climate crisis and sustainable development world leaders take in the years ahead would determine the fate of us all.
“In other words: If we save the pacific, we save the world. Pacific Island States have a moral and practical imperative to take your leadership to the global stage.”
Guterres stressed that the Summit of the Future in New York in September would be an opportunity to reform and update global institutions, so they could again be fit for purpose.
“I urge Pacific Island States to make your voices heard and heard loudly because the world needs your leadership,” he added.
