Prime Minister Bainimarama of Fiji speaking at the pre-COP23 meeting in Nadi, Fiji (photo: UNISDR)

By Andy McElroy

NADI, Fiji, 17 October 2017 – The Prime Minister of Fiji and the incoming COP23 President, Mr. Vorege Bainone, is hosting a pre-COP23 meeting to galvanise action on climate change and disaster risk.

“We have the power and the means to bring the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to life, so let’s do it,” Prime Minister Bainimarama said. “We are all vulnerable and in this together and as such we need to act as one.”

Prime Minister Bainimarama is the incoming President of the 23rd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP23), which will meet in Bonn, Germany, 6-17 November 2017.

As part of preparations for the Bonn meeting, the Government of Fiji is hosting a Pre-COP 23 in Nadi so that governments and stakeholders can finalize their preparations to scale up action on climate resilience.

The Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Ms. Amina Mohammed echoed Prime Minister Bainimarama’s call for more action on climate resilience and referenced increasingly strong engagement from the private sector and local governments.