Fiji has become the seventh country in the world and the first Small Island Developing State to pass climate legislation inclusive of a net-zero emissions goal by 2050.

Three days after the Fijian Parliament passed this Climate Change Bill as law, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama challenged developed countries at the United Nations General Assembly to follow suit.

Bainimarama says the Climate Change Act provides a legal framework for a carbon-neutral and climate-resilient Fiji by committing to the 100 percent sustainable management of our ocean and climate mitigation and adaptation through nature-based solutions.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama [Source: Twitter]

He also called on the global community at the UN General Assembly to embrace Fiji’s vision of a better, greener, bluer and safer future for humanity.

Speaking in support of the Act in Fiji’s Parliament earlier this week, the Prime Minister stressed that every tonne of carbon emission averted counts to stave off the worst of climate change.

In Fiji’s National Statement, the Prime Minister also issued a stern warning to nations yet to make net-zero commitment ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow Scotland next month.

Leaders who cannot summon the courage to unveil #netzerocommitments at @COP26 should face consequences that match the severity of what they are unleashing on our climate.

We do not tolerate war between our members states. So, how can we tolerate war waged against the planet? pic.twitter.com/F7D2oaq2Hk

— Frank Bainimarama (@FijiPM) September 25, 2021