16 Aug 2019

Pacific Islands Forum: Agreed urgent action on climate change

From Morning Report, 8:20 am on 16 August 2019

Pacific Islands Forum leaders have agreed on a call for urgent action on climate change. After 12 hours of negotiation, leaders released a comunique after midnight, including what's titled the 'Funafuti Declaration for Urgent Climate Change Action Now'. It states that the shared prosperity and security of the Pacific region can only safely exist if the global community commits to limiting global warming to 1-point-5 degrees celsius. It says the science is non-negotiable, and the global community must act now. The document also calls on large emitting countries to rapidly phase out fossil fuel subsidies. But not everyone is happy about it including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Our reporter Yvette McCullough is at the Pacific Islands Forum with Jacinda Ardern and spoke to us this morning.