Prime Minister and COP23 President Voreqe Bainimarama says for too long, our global conversation about climate action – especially when it comes to finance and technology – has assumed that all the answers to the big questions lie in the North, among the developed nations.

Speaking in Bonn, Germany during COP23 Mr Bainimarama said: “While we have concentrated political and diplomatic effort to move finance and technology from the North to South, the fact is that in the real economy, technology, finance and human resources also move from South to South in very large volumes.”

He said many of these resources were being supplied by China but “there is a very long list of countries in what is called the Global South that make significant contributions to the economic development of other nations in the South.”

He said their contributions were extremely important.

COP23 Fiji’s Chief Negotiator Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan with 12-year-old Timoci Naulusala who delivered a powerful speech to world leaders in Bonn, Germany.

“Looking ahead, China’s Belt and Road strategy is a massive infrastructure investment in the future global economy. And if Belt and Road can be a model of green finance – properly taking into account climate change – it will be a very positive contribution to tackling the scale of the climate problem.

“In India, if the present remarkable development of solar power continues, there is a good chance that coal consumption will decline. And India will offer an example to the world of the best and most economic way to provide for the power needs of large and growing populations.

“At the same time, air quality and public health will improve. And both India and China – along with many other countries – understand that pollution has a cost.

“India’s pre-eminence in software engineering and the digital economy offers a real possibility of economic gains from the convergence between renewable energy, storage and electrification of transport. And Indian businesses can offer these advances to other countries in the South.”

Edited by Ranoba Baoa

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