Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr fully supports a
Australia-led Pacific United Nations climate change
conference (COP31) next year.
Whipps, who is in Sydney
to promote smart energy and support Australia’s COP31 bid,
said hosting the annual climate conference in partnership
with the Pacific is Canberra’s “opportunity to lead on the
world stage-with credibility and conscience”.
His
comments follow the Australian opposition leader Peter
Dutton telling journalists last week that hosting the COP31
would cost “tens of billions of taxpayers’ dollars” and
describing it as “madness” and “not something we’re
supporting”.
Despite being on the frontline of the
climate crisis, the Pacific has never physically hosted a
COP meeting.
Whipps said the Pacific region is most
vulnerable to climate change and the most determined to do
something about it.
“And from our vantage point, there
is no more important diplomatic gathering each year than the
COP,” Whipps said.
“Bringing COP to the Pacific at
this moment would allow the world to witness both the crisis
and the leadership up close.
“To see not only the
devastating impacts of climate change, but also the real,
local, and scalable solutions that Australia and Pacific
nations are already delivering”.
He said geographic
concentration, and fossil fuel friendliness, of the last
three COP hosts is unprecedented and difficult to
ignore.
“Let us not lose sight of the United Nations
principle of ‘equitable geographic
representation’.
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“We cannot let this moment pass
without giving the Pacific a platform to
lead.
“Hosting COP31 in our region is not just about
symbolism, it is a test of fairness, balance, and integrity
in the global climate process. Which is exactly what I have
told President Erdogan given Turkiye’s interest also in
hosting the gathering.”
Whipps said he was confident
that Australia and the Pacific will work together in a
genuine and equal partnership.
“Our people expect a
Pacific COP31 to be a defining moment, one where we confront
and resolve difficult issues, even when they are
uncomfortable to discuss,” he
added.
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