HON. PM BAINIMARAMA'S OPENING INTERVENTION 2 – ENCOURAGING WORLD LEADERS TO TAKE FASTER AND DEEPER ACTIONS

The President of the General Assembly;
Secretary-General;
Heads of State; 
Heads of Government; 
Fellow COP Presidents;
Excellencies;
Distinguished delegates;

Bula Vinaka and a very good morning to you all. 

Following the end of our COP Presidency last year, I said that Fiji’s work wasn’t over – it was just beginning. I promised we would continue to use our leadership in other forums – such as with the Pacific Small Islands Developing States, the World Bank, and the Ocean Pathway Partnership – to continue to press for the most ambitious action possible. 

Mr. President, today, in front of this host of nations, I reaffirm this commitment. Because never before has there been greater clarity about the scale and urgency of the action we need to take. 

Global emissions today place our planet on track for climate catastrophe. That is inarguable. And it is why we are urgently calling to transform the words of the Talanoa Dialogue into higher ambition and concrete actions from every nation on earth. But I want to break down exactly what we mean by the “faster and deeper actions” we’re asking of world leaders. 

We all recognise that climate change is a deeply complex challenge – there is no doubt about that – and it requires an unprecedented level of innovative, creative and cooperative problem solving. But the simple truth is this: average global temperatures are already at one degree above pre-industrial levels. Warming of 1.5 degrees will lock in impacts worse than those we are already experiencing today, and warming of 2 degrees will be significantly worse than that. Unfortunately, as we gather here today, the collective ambition of our NDCs, puts us on track for at least three degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels – a nightmare scenario for the planet that cannot be allowed to come to pass.

By the time we reconvene for the UN Secretary General’s Summit in September, the majority of the world’s countries must come with realistic and concrete plans for three things: for their next round of NDCs in 2020, for halving emissions by 2030 and for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. We cannot accept anything less. I’ve seen with my own eyes the devastation of the climate impacts already upon us. If we fail, those impacts will grow far more severe, inflicting unparalleled suffering on humanity, not only in Fiji, not only in the Pacific, but on every person, everywhere on the planet. 

The good news is that the solutions are out there. 1.5 is still within reach. We have the tools to do what we must do. We just need to find the will, which means making decisions that might be politically difficult. But that is why we were chosen to lead—because leaders do the hard work, make the hard decisions for the common good. As an elected leader, I have to defend policies and decisions that I know some people may disagree with. 
But I gain strength and courage when I know in my heart that a decision was not just good politics, but that it was morally the right thing to do. 

Fiji is leading by example in this regard, joining the Marshall Islands to become the first two countries to commit to enhanced NDCs. My good friend and fellow leader President Heine has already submitted theirs and we intend to do so by the Summit. We’ve also prepared and submitted our long-term strategy, as well as our national adaptation plan. And if we can do it, so can you. 

Many other nations are already sending positive signals, including Ukraine, Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica, the Maldives, Chile, Vietnam, Norway, Qatar, Lebanon and Barbados. But we need many more countries – particularly the largest emitters – to answer our call for action, and do what is necessary to spare our planet from a catastrophic future. 

All parties must also openly acknowledge that even in the best-case scenario of meeting the 1.5-degree target, climate impacts are going to become much worse. Efforts to adapt economies will take time and they will take considerable financial resources. Every nation on earth is already feeling the devastating impacts of global warming. No nation can afford to be a spectator to our efforts. We need financial resources now. We need innovation now. And we need major economies to step-up and increase access to public and private climate finance. The promise of 100 billion dollars a year in public and private climate financing must materialise. 

Mr. President, let me leave you with this thought. In our effort to confront climate change, tens of millions of words have been spoken, and nearly as many promises have been made to the people we represent. But knowing the right thing to say is very different from taking the action that is needed. 
That’s why Fiji fully supports the UN Secretary General’s decision to only give podium time at his Summit to those with concrete action plans. Action for the sake of every global citizen, for the sake of our oceans and natural environment and for the sake of all those who will one day inherit this world; a world whose secure future rests squarely in our hands. 

Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.