By Florence Kuali-IAUTU, Communication Officer, NAB/Warsaw, Poland
The Government of the Republic of Vanuatu has called for global unity to combat the impacts of climate change this week in Warsaw, where world leaders gathered into their second week into the nineteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) under the United Nation Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Albert Williams, Director of the Vanuatu Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation made the call when he delivered the country’s statement at the High-Level Segment on behalf of the Prime Minister and the people of Vanuatu.
Vanuatu joined many countries in expressing their concerns around the slow progress of the conference negotiations specifically on issues of long term finance and loss and damage and urged for unification amongst all parties’ members as the conference come to its close this week.
“I urge all nations, all leaders, all women, all youth and all organisations of the world to become leaders to the fullest extent possible and keep fighting for action against Climate change,” Director Williams as the alternate head of delegation stated in his speech.
“Vanuatu associates itself with statements made by Fiji, on behalf of G77 & China, Nauru on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), Nepal, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) and the African Group by Swaziland, who have emerged as the leaders here at COP19 and are continuing to push forward as a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ and while we believe progress has been made at this Conference of the Parties (COP), it has been unsatisfactory and disappointing at best especially around long term finance and loss and damage,” he stated in his speech.
Vanuatu’s statement also highlighted the strong need to ensure action on COP18 Decision on Loss and Damage is put into action here in Warsaw for reasons that climate change has already brought much loss and damage to our country that are permanent, unavoidable, irreversible and unrecoverable and losses that no adaptation measure can adequately address.
Vanuatu also pointed out the fact that developed countries have continued and consistently pushing back from Parties of the developed world on key issues of long term finance, mitigation, loss and damage witnessed throughout the conference as very discouraging.
“It is highly disturbing to see many of the developed country parties keep dragging their feet and even backsliding on financial pledges and commitments and also lower ambition to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG). The financial announcements are truly appreciated but they come in an unpredictable manner, while we are calling for predictable financing,” Mr. Williams stated.
He stressed that the government, civil society agencies, community-based organisations and families, desperately require sufficient finance to build on resilience to climate change.
“Sadly, the women, children, youths and people with special needs of Vanuatu and other countries are experiencing the worst of the climate change impacts. For this reason, the Republic of Vanuatu has pushed strongly both at COP18 and COP19 to further enhance gender equality and equity within the UNFCCC. We have proposed realistic and implementable solutions to ensure that women are active participants at UNFCCC meetings and taking decisions that appropriately reflect the need of our women back home. This year Vanuatu’s own delegation exemplifies our gender equity aspirations, and we acknowledge the other Parties here who have made major advancements alongside us.” Director Williams stressed.
Vanuatu also recognizes that through education, training and public awareness, appropriate adaptation and mitigation work among our island peoples may be enhanced and flourish. Capacity building is desperately needed to build and strengthen the institutions in Vanuatu which transparency and accountability will guide our climate change development aspirations.
Mr. Williams also highlighted the country’s political stand in realizing the need for a greater climate change awareness and coordination. “Our Vanuatu National Advisory Board on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction under the newly formed Ministry of Climate Change is an example of the high level political will demonstrated by our leaders in our existential struggle against the negative effects of climate change.”
Therefore, with much discussions and negotiations still picking up this week, Vanuatu urged for a better team of good players of negotiators to win this game by collectively agreed upon a better solution.
“Vanuatu echoes the call of the people of the world to put aside political band-standing, and rapidly and dramatically upscale our collective ambitions to reduce the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” he said.
He concluded that, “Vanuatu believes the climate crisis requires a new international political reality: one marked by a willingness to comply with COP decisions and broad participation as we the people of the Republic of Vanuatu Care.”
For any further questions regarding Vanuatu’s participation at this year’s United Nations Climate Change conference, contact the alternate head of delegation Albert Williams on email: albert.unfccc@gmail.com
About the UNFCCC
With 195 Parties, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified by 191 of the UNFCCC Parties. For the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, 37 States, consisting of highly industrialized countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy, have legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments. The ultimate objective of both treaties is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.