Shore in Tonga. UN Secretary-General to Pacific Islands Forum: “The World Needs Your Leadership” Climate and Environment
When governments sign new oil and gas deals, they are giving up on our shared future. This was stated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga. He welcomed regional initiatives aimed at combating climate change.
Fossil Fuel Phase-Out
According to the UN chief, the planet’s survival requires a phased phase-out of fossil fuels, which account for 85 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. By next year, Guterres continued, all countries must develop national climate plans that, if implemented, will keep global warming within 1.5 degrees.
Solidarity Among Countries in the Region
The UN Secretary-General praised the solidarity between the Pacific Islands, calling on the rest of the world to follow suit. “The Pacific Islands are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet and our ocean,” the UN Secretary-General said.
He recalled the declarations adopted on rising sea levels and a Pacific Ocean free of fossil fuels. “Youth from the Pacific region have taken to the International Court of Justice to highlight the climate crisis,” he added.
The UN chief pledged to do everything he could to help mobilize international resources for the Pacific Islands Forum initiatives.
The Future Summit
He noted that humanity will have the opportunity to discuss many fateful issues in September at the Future Summit in New York, including agreeing to reform global institutions that he said “must be fit for today.”
The summit aims to give developing countries a greater voice in the global arena
“Overall,” Guterres emphasized, “the Summit aims to give developing countries a greater voice on the world stage, including in the UN Security Council and in international financial institutions.”
“I call on the Pacific island nations to make your voices heard and heard loudly, because the world needs your leadership,” the UN Secretary-General concluded his speech in Tonga.