New Zealand’s Associate Minister for Foreign Affairs Aupito William Sio said leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) did not sleep well at night thinking about how to save their countries from the effects of climate change.
He made the comments while speaking at a news conference in Nadi.
Mr Sio said Fiji had played a significant role as the chair of the Pacific Islands Forum.
“The region constantly looks forward to their leadership and when it comes to climate change, oceans, the protection of our marine resources, that’s something which is a priority to all Pacific Island Forum countries,” he said. “When it comes to climate change, collectively the region contributes very little in terms of carbon emissions.
“It’s the rest of the world that we are asking that they have got to do more.
“The leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum don’t sleep well thinking about how do we protect our homelands and the next generation from rising sea water levels and the impact of climate change. We are happy to continue supporting that using whatever means we have to amplify the voice of the Pacific people.”
