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Fiji has a moral authority on climate change

July 20, 2021 2:30 pm

Climate migration is not just an academic conversation about a futuristic possibility but a reality for people in Fiji.

Speaking at Fiji’s National Consultation on Climate Mobility, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Sanaka Samarasinha highlighted that he spent time with various communities affected by TC Harold, Yasa and Ana, across Vanua Levu and Kadavu.

Samarasinha says he has witnessed first-hand the damage climate-induced disasters can bring, the pain and suffering and the displacement.
More than 80 communities have been earmarked by the government for potential relocation, and the number is increasing.

The UN Resident Coordinator says Fiji and her people have not sat on the sidelines lamenting their plight, taking up the challenge and leading from the front in every battle of this war.

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He also says Fiji continues to punch well above its weight and leads the charge on climate action globally, being the first country in the world to formally approve the UN climate deal agreed by 195 nations in Paris.

Samarasinha also says it is time to move beyond the rhetoric into real action as Fiji has the moral authority and unique opportunity to show the rest of the world how climate mobility must be addressed.