[Source:Salote Nasalo / twitter]

Salote Nasalo, University of the South Pacific’s climate change student, is urging Fiji and the Pacific to continue to fight climate change to ensure that our children will not choose to just live anywhere in the world but in our homeland.

Speaking at the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat during COP26 President Alok Sharma’s visit, Nasalo says we are responsible for negotiating and convincing to have the opportunity to live our lives to the fullest.

“As COP27 is arriving, I ask everybody to take up your club and be ready because we are in a war for a very common energy source—climate change. It doesn’t only affect the Pacific but the whole world. “

Nasalo adds that innocent lives are at stake – we are responsible for their lives – and the decisions we make will be centered on these people.

COP26 President, Alok Sharma says the Pacific is forced to deal with the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions generated largely by big emitting countries that are a long way from the region.

“This is not a crisis of your making, as your Prime Minister said ahead of cop 23 when Fiji indeed held the presidency. Frank said, we’ve not caused this crisis – your nations have. We have trodden lightly on the earth, whereas you have trodden heavily and those comments friends should weigh very heavily on all world leaders.”

Sharma says that we should continue to work together to cajole countries around the world—in particular, the major emitters—to honor the promises they have made and to turn commitments into action