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Prayers alone will not help Australia: PM

January 7, 2020 4:50 pm

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says Fiji stands in solidarity with Australians reeling from catastrophic bushfires.

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says Fiji stands in solidarity with Australians reeling from catastrophic bushfires.

The fires which have been burning since September last year have claimed over twenty lives, destroyed thousands of homes and killed millions of animals.

Writing in the Guardian Bainimarama said as the world rang in a new year, the Oceania region has suffered, as the skies of Sydney were stained an eerie blood-red by apocalyptic bushfires, glaciers in New Zealand were covered by a brown dusting of ash that had travelled thousands of kilometres across the Pacific and in Fiji, we were left reeling by rushing floodwaters and howling, gale-force winds brought on by TC Sarai.

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Bainimarama says even as Fiji continues to assess the damage of TC Sarai, it stands in solidarity with Australia.

He says Australia has always been a kind neighbour in assisting Fiji through the worst of our climatic events; and while we may lack the same resources to return the favour, Fijians will carry their suffering as we work to push the world for more ambitious climate action.

The Prime Minister says unlike in our international negotiations, firefighters and rescue workers don’t have the luxury of sitting at conference tables when they are forced to risk their lives to contain these kinds of disasters.

He says all across the Pacific, our prayers are with Australia, particularly those victims who have witnessed hell on Earth, and with those first responders who have so bravely fought back the flames of this horrific disaster.

However, the Prime Minister says prayers alone will not turn back the tides of the climate crisis facing the world because that needs meaningful action.

He says 2020 will bring immense opportunity to take bold action to curb the scale and extent of the climate crisis.

The international community will gather at COP26 in Glasgow, England in what will be a key milestone to make meaningful commitments needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[Source: The Guardian]