PM Rabuka demands climate justice from G20 at UN General Assembly

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has told world leaders that Fiji and other small island states face “ominous and disproportionate climate threats” despite contributing only a negligible share of global emissions.

Addressing the the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Rabuka demanded that the powerful G20 must shoulder responsibility.

The Group of 20 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom, and United States. 

“Those who shoulder the blame must foot the bill,” Mr Rabuka said in his climate address to the United Nations General Assembly.

“Science is clear, the powerful G20 Group has been responsible for 80 per cent of total emissions. I plead with them that they must lead the charge – keeping with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in light of different national circumstances.”

He said fossil fuel companies were still being rewarded with profits and subsidies “while everyday people bear the costs of climate catastrophe – from rising insurance premiums to lost livelihoods.”

Mr Rabuka called for a legally binding shift from fossil fuel subsidies to a just energy transition, carbon pricing, and innovative financing such as solidarity levies on fossil fuel extraction.

On displacement, the Prime Minister said Fiji was preparing for the possibility of hosting Pacific islanders forced from their homes by rising seas.

“Some of our smaller Pacific Island communities are struggling to stay above sea level. The international community is faltering in its commitments to keep below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Low lying Pacific states expect the worse. Today, my government is looking at ways to host these island communities if it is not possible to remain on their islands,” he said.

He stressed that the dignity of those displaced must come first. “In the Pacific, where over 90 per cent of land is communally owned, those that are being displaced will be landless before they become stateless, stripping them further of their dignity.”

Mr Rabuka said Fiji was “setting the precedent” in managing climate-related relocation, describing it as “complex, sensitive and costly work” with “no margin for error.”

He reaffirmed Fiji’s support for Australia’s bid to host COP31 as a Pacific COP and urged the rapid operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund.