Outgoing COP23 president, Voreqe Bainimarama [Source: Fijian Government]

The fourteen members of the Pacific Small Island Development States met yesterday to deliberate on the state of play at COP24 which concludes in Poland tomorrow.

The members have made a declaration for scaled action on Climate Change as Small Island states are the most vulnerable to its effects.

Speaking on behalf of the PSIDS, Outgoing COP23 president, Voreqe Bainimarama urged for the inclusion of the special report of 1.5 degrees centigrade in the COP 24 decision text.

Bainimarama says the current global efforts to combat climate change are insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5 degree centigrade – above pre-industrial levels.

Therefore, he urged the world to pursue all opportunities to maximize climate action.

“We firmly believe that the COP24 in Katowice, Poland is a pivotal moment in human history. The world must take heed of the inter-government panel on climate change IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels and take dramatic and urgent steps to decarbonize the global economy and assist those at the front-line of climate change impacts.”

Bainimarama also called on developed country parties and non-party stakeholders to provide scaled up finance to support national efforts to address the worsening impacts of climate change.