Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern (file image) Photo: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern says every nation needs to do its bit when it comes to climate change, as New Zealand Foreign Mnister questions the point of the Paris climate agreement.
Dame Jacinda said Pacific leaders do not shy away from their responsibilities despite contributing very little to global greenhouse emissions.
"If you're going to be a moral voice on the climate crisis, as our Pacific leaders have been, then you also understand that you too have a responsibility to act," Dame Jacinda, who is at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, as special envoy for Oceania, told Pacific Waves.
"We all have to do our bit, otherwise the idea of collective action on climate falls apart, because where's the cut off when your contribution is not enough for you to do anything."
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has previously said he wanted to discuss the Paris climate accord with Pacific leaders.
Peters said he owed New Zealand and the world a "realistic analysis of what's going on".
"If you've got an accord that was signed and it means things, then either all the world's in on the accord, or it's not."
New Zealand is historically responsible for just 0.3 percent of global emissions, according to the independent non-profit group Climate Action Tracker.
Pacific countries are responsible for just 0.03 percent of the world's emissions, according to UN data.
Peters has pointed to the world's four biggest emitters - China, India, Russia and the US - as evidence the treaty does not work. He believes it fails to hold the big polluting countries to account.
Dame Jacinda said she would not comment on domestic politics when asked what she thought of Peters' statements.
The United Nations emissions gap report shows the world is on track for 2.3C-2.5C global warming, which is an improvement from last year's report, but still well off 1.5C - which countries agreed to keep as close to in Paris.
"That difference between 1.5 and 2.5 is huge for our region. It's further ocean acidification, that's the loss of coral reefs, that's further loss of fisheries, which is a key source of finance."
Dame Jacinda said 1.5C was still possible to be achieved, but the window for action is becoming smaller.
Australia in partnership with the Pacific and Türkiye are still wrestling to host COP31 in 2026.
Dame Jacinda - like other Pacific leaders - said it was an important opportunity for the region.
"We've seen how Brazil is being able to leverage that moment in time for a facility that directly benefits the Amazon. What is the equivalent for the Blue Pacific?"
She said it was an opportunity to promote ocean conservation and "push the dial" on the loss and damage fund.
The Pacific is aiming to be the first region in the world to be completely reliant on renewable, an initiative championed by Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr. Dame Jacinda Ardern said it was a "fantastic aspiration".
"It's a dual benefit not only a renewable region but removing the reliance on fossil fuels… there's a vulnerability to that and there's a high cost."
