The President of Nauru, Baron Waqa has challenged international leaders to breathe life into the Paris Agreement.
Speaking at the United Nations High Level Segment of this year's 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco, President Waqa said the international community entered 2016 riding high on the accomplishments of last year.
He described the Paris Agreement adopted late last year as a diplomatic triumph.
“Momentum continued to build this year as we rapidly approached the double threshold for its entry into force, and has culminated with today’s opening of the CMA – a pace that exceeded all expectations.”
President Waqa said a moment of celebration today is warranted, but for the most vulnerable among us, our tentative feelings of hope are matched by a profound sense of distress.
“As we all know, our collective aspirations as expressed in the Paris Agreement are not by our collective actions on the ground.”
He cautioned that the planet is headed for more than three degrees of warming, and every day that we delay action makes it more unlikely that we will achieve our goals.
“Mr. President, The international climate change negotiations have always struggled with an identity crisis. Are we negotiating based on the political realities of the large countries or the physical realities of the small? Are we here for the convenience of the powerful, or the very real crisis facing the vulnerable?”
“Basic equity, justice, our common humanity demands that it be the latter, “he said.
President Waqa acknowledged what he called the sterling effort of the Republic of China in making positive strides in addressing climate change issues.
“The Republic of China is a technological force that offers to share its prowess in light of the green technology it has developed for the goodness of all.
“By working together with the Republic of China, we all have much to gain, and much to lose if we chose to do so otherwise. We cannot backslide on our progress!”
“Now is the time to breath life into the Paris Agreement,” he said.
“We must approach work together with a renewed sense of urgency, but for vulnerable countries like Nauru, we fear that complacency has started to set in.”
According to President Waqa, addressing climate change is a multi-generational challenge that will require our sustained effort over the course of decades.
“It is inevitable that other important priorities will compete for our attention, and at times, a country may veer off course. Therefore, it is incumbent on us – when we gather here as Leaders – to provide the political direction necessary to see that the critical work we do here continues to move forward with urgency.”
President Waqa reminded delegates of the accomplishment in Morocco previously.
“Fifteen years ago, we gathered in this iconic city and agreed to the Marrakech Accords. The work we accomplished here propelled the Kyoto Protocol forward to become the most important international climate treaty of the day. Once again, we are looking to Morocco for the leadership to accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement,” he said.
Photo: Twitter COP 22