Solomon Islands dismiss US voluntary climate targets plan

Solomon Islands dismiss US voluntary climate targets plan

The slow pace of the UN climate negotiations and the possibility of voluntary emission reductions in the new global treaty leave those vulnerable to climate impacts facing an uncertain future.

Small low-lying islands are already facing drought as rising seas taint freshwater sources and increase the rate of coastal erosion. They are increasingly frustrated with the UN climate talks slow progress in the face of these challenges back home.

Ambassador Colin Beck of the Solomon Islands told RTCC that the possibility of the new global treaty to be agreed in 2015 being made up of emission reduction pledges set by nations themselves, risked the effectiveness of the process.

“When we take voluntary targets, what that really means is that we are doing nothing,” he said at the recent round of UN negotiations in Bonn.

“The path we are on now is leading us towards an uncertain future. This is where things are and where the negotiations are moving.”