HON. PM BAINIMARAMA'S STATEMENT OF THE PACIFIC SMALL ISLANDS DEVELOPING STATES (PSIDS) AT THE UN HIGH LEVEL MEETING ON CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL

29/03/2019


Madam President of the General Assembly;
Secretary General of the UN General Assembly; 
Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen
 
I have the honour today of delivering this statement on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States. We align ourselves with the respective Chairs of the Group of 77 and China and the Alliance of Small Island States. 
 
Madam President, 
 
I thank you for calling us here today in preparation for the upcoming Secretary General’s Climate Summit that aims to deliver concrete and realistic plans to dramatically raise our collective ambition and set us on a new path to halving emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. 
 
The United Nations is the most powerful tool we have to collectively address the great threat of climate change. To be clear, no one nation can solve this crisis itself, and that is why it is so critical we work together through this body. 
 
Some years ago, Your Excellency, UN member states walked from the General Assembly with an overwhelming endorsement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – the 17 sustainable development goals that would safeguard our only planet. While some progress has been made, we are not on track to deliver the SDGs, and our failure to adequately address climate change further threatens our success on this front. 
 
Excellencies, the window to act decisively on achieving the SDGs is intrinsically linked with the global climate change crisis. We in the Pacific are doing our part. We take this threat seriously and are resolved to respond accordingly. We are amongst the vanguard of nations that are actively exploring ways to transform our economies toward net-zero emissions by mid-century, if not sooner. And in so doing, we look to the rest of the world to play its part.
 
For us, climate change is more than a challenge – it is an immense threat, which threatens the very existence of some of our number. And some of our islands are still recovering, years later, from devastating cyclones that claimed the lives of many of our people and wreaked havoc on our economies.
 
But it’s not just cyclones. Pacific states like the Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Palau, and Tuvalu are fighting to protect fresh water sources that are threatened by rising sea levels, stronger storm surges and inundation from king-tides. And every Pacific country is having to search for ways to defend their food security against the multitude of threats presented by climate change. 
 
Madam President, 
 
While we may be on the frontlines of the climate threat, we are also on the front lines of responding to this threat. The Marshall Islands, Fiji and many Pacific SIDS are making steady progress in decarbonizing their economies well before 2050. Palau has unfolded a far-reaching plan to attain 100 percent renewable energy by 2019. Tuvalu and Kiribati are deploying innovative solutions to protect homes, communities and their infrastructure. PNG, Fiji others have commenced relocating villages from the frontlines of sea level rise, to higher and safer grounds. Vanuatu and Solomon Islands are leading in making their infrastructure more resilient – rebuilding core infrastructure so that they are able to withstand fiercer winds and more intense rainfalls. And Fiji and the Marshall Islands were the first two countries in the world to commit to more ambitious NDCs by 2020. 
 
Madam President,
 
Our ambition and our commitment to solving the climate crisis cannot be underestimated. And we believe this must go hand-in-hand with sustainable development, and therefore are equally committed to achieving the SDGs. Our tenacity in the face of climate change is unshakeable. We have faced the worst disasters and have rebuilt, time and time again. But there are certain things that we will not be able to rebuild from – climate risks that will make our homes uninhabitable. That is why we are so determined to act. 
 
Madam President,
 
Pacific SIDS have begun our regional preparations for the UNSG’s Climate Summit in September. As the Pacific SIDS Chair, we will bring to the UN Climate Summit concrete programmes and innovative examples of our plans to drive climate action that is in line with achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
 
The Pacific SIDS Leaders and I look forward to the Secretary General’s Climate Summit in September. We look forward to sharing our plans for bold and courageous action. We also look forward to listening and learning what others are planning to do. We agree with the Secretary General that the time for talk is over -- everyone must come back in September with the most ambitious and concrete plans they can deliver. 
 
Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.