“In our effort to confront climate change, tens of millions of words have been spoken and nearly as many promises have been made to the people we represent.”
This was highlighted by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama at the Additional COP23 Negotiation Session in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday.
Bainimarama says governments are not ready for the Conference of Parties 24 in Poland this December, which is aimed at ensuring the full implementation of the Paris Agreement.
He adds without implementation guidelines that everyone can live with, they risk chaos at Katowice and the possibility of yet another delay in the urgent work of combatting climate change.
The guidelines must enable parties to communicate, report, review, and strengthen climate action in line with their capabilities, and do so in a way that is transparent and accountable to the international community.
The PM says if the noble intentions of all the good people who have built this process since 1992 could be converted to clean energy, governments could resolve the crisis now.
The effects of climate change are becoming more evident and more severe. No country or region is spared, and the effects in one region are felt in others.
Various governments were urged to work in good faith with each other, reach out across natural divides and find common ground.
