The Solomon Islands asserts that the Paris Agreement is failing humanity, and the world urgently needs a stronger, legally binding framework to combat climate change.
Speaking at the 79th United Nations General Assembly, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Hon. Peter Shanel Agovaka, emphasized that climate change is not just a threat but a full-blown crisis, especially for small and low-lying nations like the Solomon Islands.
“Solomon Islands sits in a hotspot where the impacts of climate change are three times the global average. Science shows we are on a 2.5°C trajectory. The Paris Agreement is failing humanity. We need a stronger, legally binding framework that commits us to a 1.5°C pathway. The voluntary approach of the Paris Agreement has failed miserably,” Agovaka stated.
He criticized the shift in global discourse from taking ambitious climate action and building resilience to focusing on sinking nations and migration.
"We must provide hope to our people on the frontlines of climate change,” he said.
Minister Agovaka also called on the G20, responsible for 80% of global emissions, to assume a stronger leadership role in the fight against climate change.
Source: Press Release, Government Communications Unit