The Mercury
By: Evan Schwarten
Source: AAP
Pacific leaders have called on their international counterparts to step up their response to climate change.
The 15 member states of the Pacific Islands Forum issued the call yesterday after a three-day summit in Cairns, pressing world leaders not to allow a rise of more than 2C in global temperature.
And they called on all member states to commit to a 50 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels at the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen in December.
"We call upon world leaders to urgently increase their level of ambition and to give negotiators fresh mandates to secure a truly effective global agreement,'' they said in a joint statement.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that with more than half the populations of Pacific island nations living within 1.5km of coastlines, the survival of countries was threatened by rising sea levels.
"This is not just a matter of importance, it is not just a matter of urgency,'' Mr Rudd said.
"The very viability of certain island states is at stake. We cannot simply afford to wait.''
He said the world needed a first-class outcome from the Copenhagen summit but it would be difficult to achieve.
UN Development Program Assistant Secretary-General Ajay Chhibber warned Australia will be in a conflict-ridden region if more was not done to assist island countries adapt to climate change.
He said it was vital for Australia to support its impoverished island neighbours through funding, emission cuts and lobbying other nations.