New Zealand's Prime Minister Presses Australia On Climate Action

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2019) New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday pressed Australia on climate action, saying it would have to answer to the Pacific nations threatened by rising sea levels.

Adern and her Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, arrived in the South Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu earlier in the day for the Pacific Islands Forum on climate.

"Australia has to answer to the Pacific [and] that's a matter for them," she was quoted as saying by the ABC broadcaster.

She 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.

Australia has been reportedly trying to water down the forum's declaration, which is to warn people of a global warming "crisis," with Morrison arguing that a transition from the coal-based economy was a "red line" for him.