For the children: Solomons calls for legally binding agreement at COP15

Solomon Islands Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Meteorology Rence Sore (above) has told the opening plenary of the United Nations Climate Change conference in Denmark on Monday that failure is not an option in Copenhagen and that children will hold those attending COP15 to account for the outcomes of this conference. "We have been talking about Copenhagen since Bali. We are now in Copenhagen. Can we walk the talk and deliver what is expected of us here in Copenhagen? Can we make a difference after two years of negotiations?” he said.
Sore told an audience of more than 15,000 that for the survival of humanity in least developing countries and small Islands developing states a fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement is necessary.
He said scaled up political agreement and enhanced agreement framework is not the answer to climate but a change that should happen in Copenhagen now.

“We often say in climate negotiations that it is the livelihoods of the most vulnerable that we are negotiating to protect. Should we fail in our negotiations our children will blame us."

He said if negotiation at the COP15 failed it’s the innocent children of the Small Islands Developing states(SIDS) and Least Developed Countries that would suffer most.
“They would always remain as victims of our failure to come up with a fair ambitious and legally binding agreement in Copenhagen,” he said.


" We shall never give up the fight for a change in climate change.
He said, "we are not going backwards or scaling back on our expectations and will continue to defend the survival of people in the world."
“As victims of climate change we want change and we want it now . We are here to fight for change and we shall never give up the fight for a change in climate change,” he said.
Sore told the plenary small island states in the developing countries are affected by sea level rise and coastal erosion.
“Let us agree on a legal, binding agreement. Let us accept our moral responsibilities and let us save humanity from vanishing in least developed countries and small islands developing states," he said.--ENDS


Gina Maka'a
Contributing author, Solomons Star