SCALE UP YOUR EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS: PM SOGAVARE

Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Sogavare has called on developed countries to scale up their emission reduction targets.

Prime Minister Sogavare made the statement when he took the podium at the 71st United Nations General Assembly to deliver Solomon Islands National Address.

Mr. Sogavare said Solomon Islands appeals to developed countries to scale up the ambition of their respective Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDS) in order to protect the integrity of the Paris Agreement.

He said, Solomon Islands welcomes the Paris Agreement and congratulated the COP21 Presidency, France, for its leadership in restoring trust and confidence in the multilateral system.

He said all UN members are duty bound to strengthen the Agreement and make it work adding, they remain concerned that ambition under the Paris Agreement to limit warming to well below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, remains alarmingly low.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said Solomon Islands hopes that in Marrakech, more can be done in placing the Paris Agreement on a firmer foundation by taking concrete steps towards closing the pre-2020 ambition gap.

Mr. Sogavare was referring to the COP22, which will be held in Marrakech-the capital of Morocco later this year.

He further urged countries that are yet to ratify the Doha Amendment under the Kyoto Protocol to do so as soon as possible.

He also welcomed the decision taken by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol last December, to phase down the production and consumption of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the Treaty.

Sogavare adds, 2015 was a year of Agreements and Adoption of Frameworks and 2016 must be about carrying out the Agreements and Implementation Frameworks.