He also notes the groundswell of public opinion in Australia against coal, and the 61 prominent Australians who want to stop all new coal mines in Australia.
Yet, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. I fear that the Small Island Developing States - and least developed nations the world over – are destined to leave the French capital empty handed. I fear that our interests are about to be sacrificed. That might will triumph over reason. Over justice.
This will happen even though the argument for urgent and decisive action is unassailable. Three of our Pacific neighbours – Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands – are destined to physically sink beneath the waves altogether. Other nations will lose large tracts of arable coastal land. And we will all be more vulnerable to the extreme weather events that already come out of nowhere, kill our people and ravage our economies. All because of the inaction and gross irresponsibility of what I have unashamedly called “the coalition of the selfish”.
Even our nearest developed neighbours – Australia and New Zealand – have failed to back us in this struggle. The Australian Government, in particular, seems intent on putting its own immediate economic interests first. The Lucky Country determined to stay lucky, at least for the short term, at the expense of its unlucky island neighbours.
To Malcolm Turnbull, the new Australian Prime Minister, I want to send a special plea. Make good on your previous strong stance in favour of deep and binding cuts in carbon emissions. Do not do deals with those who have enabled you to gain high office and betray your principles and our position.
I implore you to put our welfare and our very existence as Pacific islanders before your energy sector. I implore you to highlight to your people that such economic practices are only for short term gain and not sustainable economically and environmentally. Thereby undermining future growth potential. I urge you to impose a moratorium on the development of further reserves of Australian coal. It is the dirtiest of energy sources. And there is no place for it in a world that desperately needs cleaner energy to halt the present rate of global warming.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very encouraged by the recent groundswell of public opinion within Australia calling for a ban on new coalmines and the expansion of existing ones. This includes an appeal by 61 prominent Australians published yesterday for such a ban to be placed firmly on the agenda of the Paris summit. And for the carbon reduction targets contained in the Suva Declaration to be adopted by the entire world.
I urge you, Mr Turnbull, to heed that call. And to side with us in the Pacific against the proponents of coal and the climate change deniers in your own government. You have shown leadership on this issue before. Now that you have the job of prime minister and can really make a difference, please show leadership again. Fiji gov
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