Vanuatu declared a climate emergency because a number of islands in the Pacific archipelago are in danger of sinking.
The Vanuatu government has also prepared funds of US $ 1.2 million or equivalent to Rp. 17.4 billion to reduce the impact of climate change.
Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Bob Loughman, said rising sea levels and bad weather were already disproportionately affecting the Pacific.
He highlighted two devastating tropical cyclones and the drought that hit in the past decade.
“The earth is too hot and unsafe. We are in danger now, not only in the future,” Loughman told parliament on Friday (27/5). AFP.
He will also issue a $1.2 billion budget as a form of Vanuatu’s commitment to the Paris agreement to be reached by 2030.
The budget will be focused on climate change, mitigation, impact and covering the damage.
Most of the funds require assistance from foreign or donor countries, he said.
Vanuatu MPs fully support the mission and declare a climate emergency as do many other countries, such as the UK, Canada and Fiji.
“Vanuatu’s responsibility is to encourage responsible countries to adapt actions to the size and urgency of the crisis,” said the speaker of Vanuatu’s parliament.
He further explained, “The use of emergency terminology is a way of signaling that we must go beyond the existing reforms.”
The declaration is part of a climate diplomacy push ahead of a UN vote on countries vulnerable to climate change.
In 2021, Vanuatu said it would seek legal advice from one of the world’s highest judicial authorities to consider the climate crisis.
Although legal opinions by courts will not be binding, Vanuatu hopes there will be international law for future generations. The rules can contain the damage, loss, and human rights implications of climate change.
(isa/bac)
–
