Climate Change

The comment from Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, comes after his fellow Pacific Islands Forum leaders failed to reach a unified position on the issue.

Most countries had wanted to push for a temperature increase over pre-industrial levels of less than 1.5 degrees celsius at the COP21 meeting in Paris.

But this was opposed by New Zealand and Australia and the Forum concluded with a weaker 'agree to disagree' position.

The 46th meeting of Pacific Island Forum leaders meeting ended with an agreement to disagree on the contentious issue of climate change and a change in approach to fisheries management.

Climate change in particular dominated the week's discussions between the 16 member countries gathered in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby.

Early on in the summit, conflicting views emerged as small island states like Kiribati and Palau reiterated their calls for greater action from the more developed nations like New Zealand and Australia on climate change.

The 46th meeting of Forum leaders ended with an agreement to disagree on the contentious issue of climate change.

Small island states like Kiribati and Palau had called for greater action from the likes of New Zealand and Australia

However both developed countries have made no commitments to reduce emissions further so that global temperatures didn't increase more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

They are sticking with the United Nations promoted limit of two degrees.

President Tong says he accepts their position.

This week its President Anote Tong told LOOP news the World Climate Change Meeting in Paris at the end of this year would be their last chance to get the world to listen to them.

He had hoped for Australia and New Zealand to make new commitments at the Pacific Island Forum meeting this week but  this did not happen 

 "Whether we accept it or not is a different question," he said.

“Those islands barely 2m above sea level were the ones on the "frontline" dealing with the issues of climate change,” he said.

The five issues were: climate change, fisheries, ICT, Cervical cancer and human rights abuses in West Papua

LOOP News understands there were some differences on positions by countries on West Papua and Climate change

Tony Abbott arrived in Port Moresby on Wednesday night after climate change dominated pre-retreat discussion among the other 15 leaders, with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill insisting there was strong support for the forum to have a “single position” on the issue.

O'Neill said the views already expressed in two pre-forum declarations supporting the 1.5 per cent target, rather than the 2 per cent preferred by Australia and New Zealand, would be “very seriously considered” at the retreat.

Kiribati president Anote Tong warned people in the region would have to flee in waves similar to the current migrant crisis in Europe unless stronger action was taken to reduce emissions.

"I think it would be incumbent on them because how relevant [would] their presence be," he said.

"We expect them as a our big brothers, not bad brothers, our big brothers to support us on this one."

Australia and New Zealand are the two most economically powerful members of the PIF, which is meeting this week in Port Moresby.

Representatives from the 16 forum member countries have gathered in Port Moresby to address issues concerning the region, but there are a number of conflicting positions, particularly when it comes to Australia and New Zealand and climate change.

Small island states have called for a global moratorium on new coal mines, which may struggle to get the backing of the wider forum, and enough of a reduction in emissions so that global temperature increases do not exceed 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels.

The Forum is meeting this week in Papua New Guinea’s Port Moresby, with leaders hoping to thrash out a shared position to take to the UN Paris climate change conference in December.

Kiribati President Anote Tong Tuesday said the future of his nation was threatened by climate change and raised the prospect of Australia and New Zealand being asked to leave the grouping if they undermined a consensus on taking serious ­action.

Anote Tong, president of Kiribati, a member of the 16-member Pacific Islands Forum, told journalists who are in Port Moresby to cover the Forum Leaders summit that changes in Forum membership may be the way out of getting a uniform position on climate change.

Either Australia leave the Forum, or countries like his and perhaps that of the six other members of the Forum's smaller island states (SIS) exit the Forum membership.