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STATEMENT FROM THE PRIME MINISTER OF FIJI AND PRESIDENT OF COP 23
Upholding Fijian sovereignty has always been my principal duty and preoccupation as Prime Minister of Fiji, as it is with any national leader. Equally, upholding the interests of Fijians, other Pacific Islanders and the billions of climate-vulnerable people throughout the world has always been my principal concern as President of COP23. Any suggestion, therefore, that
Fiji’s COP Presidency has been unduly influenced by foreign
interests and that our approach has been in any way weakened by external influence is wrong and offensive. As I have said before, it is both false and mischievous to suggest - as unnamed Fijian sources are quoted as having done - that this has anything to do with my decision to remove my COP Chief Negotiator, Ambassador Nazhat Shameem-Khan, and replace her with Ambassador Luke Daunivalu. As I have already stated, I made the switch to strengthen the teamwork that Fiji requires to make a success of its carriage, with Poland, of the forthcoming Talanoa Dialogue at COP24. It was my decision as COP23 President and mine alone, as I am fully justified in doing if in my judgment, it serves the interests o
f Fiji’s Presidency and the global community as a whole.
The Talanoa Dialogue is all about teamwork and it was my decision that Ambassador Daunivalu was better placed to ensure that teamwork occurs in the interests of the world and especially the climate-vulnerable nations. The additional suggestion by these unnamed Fijian sources that at the urging of outsiders, Fiji has not pursued the issue of loss and damage with appropriate vigour is equally false and mischievous. Along with the UNFCCC and past COP presidents, Fiji is dealing with loss and damage as part of the Paris Agreement of 2015 and in the appropriate manner, bearing in mind our clear mandate to operationalise the Paris Agreement. Ambassador Khan was a strong supporter of our approach and pushed this agenda strongly as she led the negotiations, just as Ambassador Daunivalu will do with equal vigour for the remainder of our term. In addition, some of the legacy items from COP23 specifically address the issue of loss and damage. The InsuResilience Global Partnership will bring affordable insurance and other financial protection to millions of vulnerable people around the world. The Fiji Clearing House on Risk Transfer connects vulnerable nations with information about access to affordable insurance. And the Suva Dialogue on Loss and Damage, agreed at COP23, will be held in the April/May climate talks as an important forum on the next steps to be taken on this issue. We are also working with donors and other Pacific partners to establish the Regional Pacific NDC Hub which will assist countries implement their NDCs with a focus on both mitigation and adaptation. As COP23 President, I have consistently called for pre-2020 action and greater ambition on the part of the global community to adopt the most ambitious target of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above that of the pre-industrial age. We have signed the Powering Past Coal Alliance and consistently pushed the case for more climate finance to flow to fund the adaptation needs of the Pacific.
Frank Bainimarama Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji and President of COP23
