Page 19 - IB FEB 2017

Climate Change

Tuvalu steps up climate action

By Lavenia Vuadreu together as part of this based on things “It does not mean that we are sinking
like the strength and damage of natural as the world or social media is saying. No
TUVALU Prime Minister Enele Sosene disasters and of course, easy access to we are not sinking, we are drowning. We
Sopoaga has not rested. those affected,” Sopoaga says. are in fact being inundated by the actions
Barely settled at home after the 22nd “The whole idea is for us to help our of others. Our islands are never sinking,”
session of the Conference of the Par- fellow Pacific Islanders rather than waiting Sopoaga insists.
ties (COP 22) in Morocco in November, around and relying on handouts. Despite the impending scenario of cli-
Sopoaga plunged straight into laying “Surely it is well within our rights as mate change skeptic Donald Trump lead-
the platform for his country’s inaugural people of the Pacific to seek protection ing a freshly elected US Administration,
Climate Resilience Week, while juggling from the actions of developed nations Sopoaga is not discouraged.
an intense government budget debate in who still ignore climate change as a real- “There is no time to waste or lose the
Tuvalu’s national parliament. ity,” he adds. momentum from global climate talks. Let’s
“There is no time to waste. This is all The establishment of a Tuvalu Survival leave the Donald Trump phenomenon to
part of building protective measures long Fund also reflects the Sopoaga Govern- take its own course. We respect the deci-
term. We cannot just sit around and wait ment’s commitment in the fight against sion of the American people, so let them
for outside help and that is why we must climate change for the coral island atoll na- be,” says the Tuvalu PM.
keep the momentum going from Paris as tion’s not more than 11,000 inhabitants. “The critical point is, if we do not come
well as Morocco,” says Sopoaga as he “We have set this Fund up with our together, we will all fall.”
rounded up from yet another meeting, this own money to also tell the world that we The Tuvalu Prime Minister best summed
time a strenuous week-long United Na- are dead serious about this. There is no it up in his congratulatory message to in-
tions Economic and Social Commission for other planet so we must accept the reality coming US President Elect Donald Trump.
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) regional that there is no fall back plan. There is no “We are all on one canoe. That one
meet in Suva in December. Plan B,” he said. canoe is mother Earth.
Tuvalu is among those at the forefront The Survival Fund is being made pos- “So we must try and save this one
of advocating for the inclusion of a legal sible through the long awaited Green canoe. I’m sure the American voters and
mechanism to recognise the rights of per- Climate Fund of $US36 million to Tuvalu. leaders know there is no other option. Yes,
sons displaced by climate change. The systematic mainstreaming of cli- there is only one canoe for the world. Ei-
“We are pushing for a Pacific Islands mate change across the sparse coral atoll ther we stay on the canoe and help paddle
Insurance Facility for the region. There will nation is just one small step towards wider and keep it afloat and buoyant, or we all
be a specific formula which we are putting global commitment. go down together,” Sopoaga said.

‘ ... We are all on one canoe. That one

canoe is mother Earth. So we must

try and save this canoe. I’m sure the
American voters and leaders know

there is no other option ... there is

only one canoe for this world. Either

we stay on the canoe and help paddle
and keep it afloat and buoyant or we

all go down together ‘

Islands Business, February 2017 19