Polynesian Countries to take Climate Fight to World Leaders Featured
Polynesian Leaders
20 July 2015. The leaders of the Polynesian countries have adopted a declaration calling for international recognition of their countries' vulnerability to climate change.
The Polynesia Against Climate Threats declaration calls for a joint effort to protect the ocean and the environment, and will be taken to world leaders at a major climate change conference in December.
The declaration was signed by the leaders in French Polynesia on Friday, and highlights the region's vulnerability to extreme weather events, loss of territorial integrity, and the displacement of populations as a result of climate change.
The leaders say they want the international community to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees celsius by 2100, and to financially support the countries in implementing adaptation solutions.
The declaration also calls for their exclusive economic zones to be permanently fixed and for their ocean area to be recognised as one of the great carbon absorbers, similar to rainforests.
It also calls for an international support mechanism to be established to compensate for the impacts of climate change and to protect displaced populations.
Source: Radio New Zealand
