Australia Succeeds In Softening Pacific Climate Declaration - Reports

Australia has succeeded in softening the language of the draft communique of the Pacific Islands Forum, which is to warn people of a global warming "crisis," media reported citing sources familiar with the negotiations

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2019) Australia has succeeded in softening the language of the draft communique of the Pacific Islands Forum, which is to warn people of a global warming "crisis," media reported citing sources familiar with the negotiations.

According to The Guardian, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, during the ongoing Pacific Islands Forum on climate in Tuvalu, managed to persuade Pacific leaders to remove from the text all but one reference to a transition from a coal-based economy, which is a "red line" for him.

A source, who saw a draft of the declaration, said that the leaders would be exchanging views on a version that would direct members to consider the UN secretary-general's call to abandon new coal-fired plants rather than actually publicly supporting it.

On Wednesday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stopped short of urging Australia to phase out coal plants, speed up the transition to renewable energy sources and contribute more to the UN-backed Green Climate Fund.

At the forum in Tuvalu, leaders of small Pacific nations are calling for urgent and decisive action to be taken regarding the climate crisis, which looms over these countries the most. Island nations are the first to suffer from rising temperatures and sea levels, erosion, and ocean salinity, as it complicates food growth and forces people to migrate.