By Mary Lyn Fonua
The decisions that world leaders face in the coming years will be determining the fate, firstly, of the Pacific Islands, but also of everyone else, the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said today, “If we save the Pacific we save the world.”
He urged Pacific states “to make your voices heard and heard loudly. Because the world needs your leadership.”
In addressing the opening of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, in Nuku’alofa this morning, 26 August 2024 Guterres said that Pacific Islanders are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet, and our oceans.
Floods and earthquakes
The opening day for the four-day meeting turned on some extreme elements, with torrential downpours flooding the streets of the capital and reducing visibility for the motorcades of VIPs who have travelled to Tonga from all over the world. The flooding impeded access to the newly-built venue for hundreds of guests, delegations and mass choirs of students.
Then shortly after the opening, a series of strong earthquakes shook the capital - the largest 6.8m, centred 20km from Ha’apai - causing buildings and vehicles to sway, causing some concern, before a “tsunami no threat advisory” was issued by Tonga Met Services. The new building survived the test and the Leaders meeting continued.
Crown Prince
The meeting of 18 Pacific Island leaders and their representatives, was officially opened by HRH Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala at the Tonga High School’s new stadium.
In an inaugural address he recognized the history of the Forum and the founding fathers. “We are blessed because of their foresight that we can achieve more together as a region than as individual nations.”
He said Tonga is firmly committed to be more resilient and to realise, “our collective vision of the Blue Pacific Continent.”
Founded in 1971, the Pacific Islands Forum is the region's top political and economic organisation, with 18 members across the Pacific Ocean.
The incoming chair of the PIF, Tonga’s Prime Minister, Hon. Hu’akavameiliku said he was proud to host the UN Secretary General Guterres to the 53rd meeting.
“Your unwavering commitment to climate justice and advocacy makes you a cherished ally and a true champion of our Small Island Developing States. Your presence here testifies to your dedication to taking our stories and complex circumstances to the global stage
“You are here with us less than a month away from the Futures Summit, the UN General Assembly and the High Level Meeting to address the existential threats caused by sea level rise,” he said.
Call for reform
In his address, UN SG Guterres said, “We meet at a turbulent time for our world, raging conflicts and escalating climate crisis. Inequalities and injustices everywhere and the 2070 agenda is faulty. But this region is a beacon on solidarity and strength, environmental stewardship and peace.
“The world has much to learn from the Pacific and the world must also step up to support your initiatives.
“This is a region of fearless seafarers, expert fishers, and deep ancestral knowledge of the ocean, but humanity is treating the sea like a sewer. Plastic pollution is choking sea life. Greenhouse gases are causing ocean heating, acidification, and the dramatic and accelerating rise in sea level.
“And Pacific Islanders are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet, and our oceans - by declaring a Climate Emergency and pushing for action, your declarations on sea level rise and aspirations for a just transition from fossil fuels free Pacific.”
He said the young people of the Pacific are taking the climate crisis to the international court of justice. “And they have also rightly recognized that this is a security crisis and taking steps to manage those risks together.”
Survival Plan
The Secretary General expressed his full support for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and promised to do his best to help mobilise international resources for the Pacific Resilience Facility and to engage with all the relevant initiatives at the Pacific Island talks.
“The survival plan for our planet is simple: establishing a just transition for the phase out of the fossil fuels that are responsible for 85% of emissions of greenhouse gases.
“All countries must produce national climate plans the national climate contributions by next year aligning with 1.5 degrees upper limit of global heating.”
He said that the G20 the biggest emitters responsible for 80% of those emissions must step up and lead by phasing out the production and consumption of fossil fuels and stopping their expansion immediately.
“When governments sign new oil and gas licenses they are signing away our futures,” he said.
“The Pacific Island States ambition for a fossil-free future in the Pacific is a blueprint for the G20 and the world
“But the region urgently needs substantial finance, capacities and technology to speed up the transition and to invest in adaptation and resilience.
“That is why we have been calling for reform of an outdated and unfair international financial architecture. For a massive increase in the lending capacity of multilateral development banks, for debt relief programmes that work including for middle income countries that are in distress. And for a distribution of special drawing rights to benefit countries and in particular SIDS,” he said.
“The decisions that world leaders face in the coming years will be determining the fate of, firstly, of the Pacific Islands but also of everyone else, in other words, if we save the Pacific we save the world
“With the General Assembly’s endorsement of the multi-dimensional vulnerability index we must now make sure that the international financial institutions include them in their criteria for financial operations.
“And the Summit of future in New York next month will be an opportunity to reform and update and reform global institutions so that they are fit for today and tomorrow.
“Across the board the summit aims to provide developing countries with a greater voice on the global stage including UN security council and the international financial institutions.
“I urge Pacific Island states to make your voices heard and heard loudly. Because the world needs your leadership,” Secretary General Guterres said.
