Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama’s environmental leadership has earned him a top spot on Foreign Policy’s 10th Anniversary Global Thinkers List, alongside former US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Prime Minister Bainimarama was listed among this year’s top 100 Global Thinkers in the world, and a top ten thinker in the energy and climate space. The annualForeign Policy list is determined by considering “the thinkers and doers who had a profound impact on the planet in the last 12 months.”
In its description of PM Bainimarama, Foreign Policy attributes the ranking to his climate leadership both at home and abroad, highlighting both his accomplishments as COP23 President and Fiji’s forward-thinking regarding climate refugees among our Pacific neighbours.
“After coming to power as a military strongman, Frank Bainimarama has led Fiji since 2007, winning two elections. He has used that time to establish himself as a global advocate for environmental protection, in no small part because his country is on the front lines. Under his leadership, Fiji was the first country to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change. And in 2018, Bainimarama repeated an earlier offer of refuge to the people of Kiribati and Tuvalu should those islands become inundated by rising sea levels,” writes Foreign Policy.
The full list of Global Thinkers can be found here:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019-global-thinkers/