Anote Tong, the president of Kiribati, one of the several Pacific Island nations, has asked for a global moratorium on all new coal mines. In a letter to world leaders Tong has said, “Kiribati, faced with a very uncertain future, is calling for a global moratorium on new coal mines.” “The construction of each new coal mine undermines the spirit and intent of any agreement we could reach, mainly in the upcoming COP 21 in Paris, while stopping new coal mine constructions now will make any agreement reached in Paris truly historical,” he wrote. He also is a member of the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), which negotiates at the UN climate talks. While AOSIS members are also part of the larger G77+ China block of countries they have often taken negotiating positions closer to developed countries on greenhouse gas emission issues. The small island countries are considered extremely vulnerable to climate change as they are mostly low lying geographies susceptible to even small changes in the sea levels and freak weather changes. India is to host the second Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation on Friday which Tong is too expected to attend. Tong’s communication along the lines that AOSIS has promoted has also found support from international green NGOs asking for disinvestment in coal and a ban on green-field coal operations.
These demands have not found universal support at the official UN talks. India has been one of the several countries to oppose such a ban.
In his letter, Tong has said, “Science, as confirmed by the UN’s Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, dictates that for the world to avoid catastrophic climate change we must leave the vast bulk of carbon reserves in the ground. Very simply, the world needs to burn less coal each year.”
