‘No
more excuses on decisive and effective climate action!’ This was the
message that rang loud and clear
as Commonwealth governments and climate change experts and
practitioners met today at a Commonwealth Dialogue on Climate Change.
Hosted
by Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, who
took office on 1 April, the forum focused on the way forward after the
historic Paris climate agreement at COP21
last December.
Welcoming
delegates, Secretary-General Scotland pledged that the Commonwealth
will play a “central role” in addressing the existential threat of
climate change
(read the speech in full -
http://goo.gl/JYToIO).
Describing
the issue as “the most severe global challenge facing our generation”
the Dominican Secretary-General said the Commonwealth, with its “potent
combination of
distinctive strengths and advantages” is well poised to continue to
“provide smaller and more vulnerable states with a vital platform for
wider political consideration of their concerns.”
Fiji’s
High Commissioner Mr Jitoko Tikolevu described the “frightening” threat
facing his country, and called on all nations to “act decisively”. He
said: “The emergency is now, so the
solution must be now. There is no more room for excuses!”
His
comments come as Fiji, which just weeks ago was battered by the worst
cyclone recorded in the southern hemisphere, is now bracing itself for
the effects of category
three cyclone Zena.
Outlining
Commonwealth initiatives such as the Commonwealth Climate Finance
Access Hub, which will help countries successfully bid for climate
action funding, Secretary-General
Scotland challenged participants to think about the practical next
steps to deal with the globe’s environmental challenges.
Sir
David King, the UK Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for
Climate Change, outlined the importance of investing in innovations to
reduce rising carbon emissions.Climate justice
advocate Mary Robinson questioned whether the historic global agreement
on climate change in Paris will deliver action at the speed and scale
needed to keep warming below 1.5 degrees or well below 2 degrees.
Ms
Robinson urged the Commonwealth to ensure it maintains its strong track
record of leadership on collective action on environmental issues,
which dates back to 1989 when it adopted the
Langkawi declaration on the environment.
Since
then the intergovernmental body has facilitated the Barbados Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small-Island Developing
States (SIDS) in 1994, and in 2009 Commonwealth
Heads signed the Port of Spain Climate Change Consensus: The
Commonwealth Climate Change Declaration.This declaration had a decisive
impact on COP15 in Copenhagen.
Referring
to the landmark climate change agreement at the 2015 Commonwealth Head
of Government meeting, Secretary General Scotland said: “There
was an agreement
that 53 of us would commit to 2% with 52 of us saying 1.5% would be our
aspiration.Countries like Canada that had been sceptical in the past
came on board because they heard the voice of the small island states in
the Commonwealth.
“The 53 countries then went to Paris,
united in our aims and active across the five different regions. We had
members of the Commonwealth with one voice saying, “take this
seriously.” And they did.”
She added: “So now, having been
instrumental in achieving the Paris agreement, the Commonwealth now has
to be instrumental in delivering it.”
The event is the first in a series of high-level policy dialogues to be hosted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General.