Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama left the country yesterday for Bonn, Germany, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Minister for Industry and Trade, Tourism and Land and Mineral Resources Faiyaz Koya is the acting Prime Minister.

Mr Bainimarama confirmed this to the Fiji Sun yesterday before leaving for Bonn.

Mr Koya was at Nadi to farewell Prime Minister Bainimarama.

The UN Climate Change Conference opened in Bonn on April 30 and will continue until May 10.

A report published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) said the ongoing preparatory phase of the Talanoa Dialogue was expected to continue deliberations on its three questions related to countries’ efforts to combat climate change: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?

The Talanoa Dialogue’s preparatory phase report said it started in January 2018 and would last until December, to be followed by a political phase at the Katowice Climate Change Conference in Poland.

The Bonn Climate Change Conference comprises meetings of three bodies: The 48th session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 48), the 48th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 48) and the fifth part of the first session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA 1-5).

The agendas for the three bodies cover a range of issues, including the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP) and a set of decisions required to operationalise the Paris Agreement on climate change, on which the Bonn Climate Change Conference is expected to focus.

Edited by Epineri Vula

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