Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says Fiji and the rest of the Pacific looks to China to be one of the leader standing with us as we near the 21st UN Conference of the Parties meeting in Paris at the end of this month.

Speaking in Suva yesterday, Bainimarama asked China to side with us in this struggle as Pacific island nations try to persuade the industrialized nations to embrace drastic cuts in carbon emissions.

He says there is grave fear here in the Pacific of the consequences on the people if our calls for go unheeded.

“If the industrial nations act now – take the hard decisions now – we have a fighting chance to save the Pacific and to save the planet. But if they don’t, they are not only sacrificing our interests in Paris but delaying the inevitable for themselves. Because it is abundantly clear that the whole world cannot continue on its present course. We must choose a more sustainable energy future now or wind up having no real future at all.”

Bainimarama also requested all diplomats present to convey Fiji’s concerns to their respective governments.

He says we must not let the opportunity that Paris presents escape from us and we must not fail our people or our planet.