October 17, 2017 – Pacific Island Represent (P.I. Rep) will call out climate hypocrites at the UN climate meeting in Germany after raising more than $17,000 to send two of its members to the key global event.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific launched the P.I. Rep crowdfunder on Friday and within 24 hours had raised the $17,200 required to send Samu Kuridrani and Alisi Nacewa to the 23rd Conference of Parties meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP23).
“We would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made a contribution to get us to Bonn. We couldn’t do it with your support,” P.I. Rep spokeswoman Alisi Nacewa said.
COP23 offers a unique opportunity for Pacific voices to be heard as it will be the first such event hosted by a Pacific island state, Fiji, and will be critical to the future of the Pacific. World leaders will gather in Bonn to decide how to implement the Paris agreement, which aims to cap global warming at 1.5°C.
“We will use this rare opportunity to tell world leaders to honour their Paris commitments and call them out when they don’t. 1.5°C means no new fossil fuels. You can’t claim to be a friend of the Pacific while exploring for, extracting, and exporting coal, oil and gas,” Nacewa said.
As well as putting a spotlight on countries that only pay lip service to combatting climate change, the P.I Reps will travel to Oslo, Norway, where they will bear witness at the historic People vs Arctic Oil court challenge.
The Norwegian government is being forced to defend its ongoing search for Arctic oil in light of its Paris commitments and its own constitution which guarantees citizens the right to live in a “healthy environment”.
“This is precisely the kind of thing P.I Rep was started to call out, Nacewa said.
“Norway wants to phase out petrol and diesel cars but continues to export oil all over the world. Even worse, it’s searching for oil in the most sensitive parts of the Arctic. Fossil fuel projects such as these risk pushing the world beyond 1.5°C, which means many Pacific Islanders will no longer be able to live in their homes. We cannot and should not accept this and that is the message we will take to Bonn.”
Throughout their journey to Europe and back to Fiji, the Reps will keep in touch with their supporters through regular social media posts that will clearly explain the problems associated with climate change and fearlessly name and shame those responsible.
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Greenpeace Media Campaigner Martin Zavan
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