UN General Assembly
2018

We are preparing our people to cope with the increasing dangers arising from climate change, which are very real for us. Earlier this month, as I have said, at the Pacific Island Forum leaders meeting, in Nauru, we reaffirmed our strong commitment to working together to combat the adverse impacts of climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement and other frameworks for the resilient development of the Pacific region. The Boe Declaration of the Pacific Island Forum leaders makes our position clear. We therefore strongly welcome the Secretary-General’s climate summit to be held in September 2019. In February, Papua New Guinea experienced a tragic and unprecedented earthquake, the worst in our history. It hit five provinces, killed nearly 200 people and displaced nearly 600,000 others. Many others were injured and traumatized. Vital infrastructure was destroyed. The national economy slowed. Compounding our situation were two separate volcanic eruptions.