This year, with Fiji as the President of COP 23, the Pacific region will show the world what true climate leadership is. We will highlight for the world what climate change in the Pacific looks like and how inaction on climate change exacerbates that threat.
As Pacific Climate Warriors from across the Pacific region representing various grassroots, frontline and indigenous communities, and with support from around the world, we are calling for world leaders to commit to building a better, more just world for ourselves and for generations to come.
Climate change poses a direct threat to our homes and our people. The continuous burning of fossil fuels is leading to accelerated sea level rise, longer more intense heat waves, and exacerbated natural disasters. At the rate that the developed world is digging up and burning fossil fuels, climate change will continue to have disastrous impacts on those who have done the least to cause these problems.
For more than two decades, negotiations have failed to deliver the action required to protect our homes and livelihoods from dangerous climate change. Communities everywhere are stepping up to ensure that their voices are heard and that the leadership vacuum left by world leaders is filled and they deliver the change we need at the pace we need to avoid catastrophic climate change. We, the Pacific Climate Warriors, on behalf of the communities we are from, call for more ambitious action on climate change from our world leaders.
We are calling for world leaders to commit to building a better, more just world for ourselves and for generations to come. Climate change is real and impacting now, and it's imperative that we stand up for the Pacific, and the global community, and act now to avoid further climate catastrophe. This COP should be about the people, not the profits and the polluters. Read the full Declaration here.
We call on the world to:
Billy Cava, New Caledonia
Unified Pacific voices have the power to enforce the adoption of environmental legislation that will ensure our people’s survival and protect our unique heritage in the Pacific. Our voices from the frontlines will help decision makers behind closed doors shape adequate and fair climate policies that will give our people a real chance at survival.
Silivesiteli Loloa, Tonga
Tonga is my island paradise. As a Warrior from the kingdom, I have been taught to respect my culture, our traditions, my family and our land. I will do everything that I can to fight for my home and will continue to declare, “We are not drowning, we are fighting.
Litia Maiava, Tokelau
This Declaration that is supported by Pacific Islanders across the region is our collective voice on climate action. As the Tokelau Climate Warrior, I will not move away from my home and this is my responsibility and duty to protect my islands from the threat of climate change.
Ramona Tugaga, Samoa
It’s important that you sign our Declaration because we want our future generations to foster their traditions and values as we were before climate change became so real! It’s important that you sign our Declaration because it’s our lands and ocean our people heavily depend on – and will depend on for generations and generations! The world needs to hear Pacific voices on climate change because it’s the most crucial factor affecting our people and our environment!
Joseph-Zane Sikulu, Tonga, Australia
There are so many Pacific people who have moved away from the islands and many of us live in places that contribute so much to Climate Change. No matter where we are, we are still Pacific people and if we can’t stand up for our families and loved ones back home on the islands then who will. The Pacific Climate Warrior Declaration is the voice of the youth of the Pacific. This is our future fighting to be heard. Hear their call, sign the declaration and #HaveYourSei