The Pacific's small island states are demanding immediate, significant action to cut green house gases.
The small island states group has met ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders summit, which kicks off tonight.
Their statement shows climate change will be front and centre of discussions at the summit, despite some ambivalence from regional heavyweights Australia and New Zealand.
Koro Vaka'uta reports
"The SIS leaders have issued a Port Moresby Declaration on Climate Change, expressing their concern for the future of their nations. The declaration calls for a binding agreement to limit global temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. It also calls for the human rights of their people to be protected and mechanisms to renew mitigation commitments every five years. The declaration comes a week after the Suva Declaration produced by the Pacific Islands Development Forum and just days after regional NGOs also called for the same 1.5 degrees threshold. Earlier reports indicated a draft Pacific Islands Forum position was looking at a 2 degrees threshold to take to the COP 21 meeting in Paris at the end of the year."
