Iamo - Government must address Climate Change
Thur Jul 31, 2008 12:00pm
The Secretary for the Department of Environment and Conservation, Dr
Wari Iamo has challenged the Government to get its act together and
seriously address climate change in Papua New Guinea.
He said people in parts of the country are already feeling the
adverse effects of this global phenomena and yet the Government has no
policy framework in place to deal with this reality.
"It has taken years to get the policy process going on climate
change," Dr Iamo said.
"As the key department tasked with coordinating the development of
environment and climate change policy, I urge all stakeholders to work
together."
"More importantly, let us all realize that our respective roles in
policy are unique, crosscutting in some cases but nevertheless equally
important in framing a policy environment that adequately responds to
the impacts of climate change and allows us to be responsible global
partner in reducing our carbon foot print without adversely affecting
our development to meet the needs of our people," Dr Iamo said.
Dr Iamo also acknowledged the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare's
role in championing this issue at both the national and global level.
He was speaking at Tuesday's Seminar on Climate Change which was
jointly organized by the National Research Institute and the British
High Commission.
UK says PNG needs clear roadmap
The British High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, David Dunn has
said that PNG immediately needs a clear roadmap to effectively deal
with climate change and environmental stability.
Speaking at the Climate Change seminar, Mr Dunn said there is also a
dire need for the Government to come up with sound policies.
Mr Dunn said as focus is on next year's Climate Change Conference in
Cofenhagen, PNG being the custodian of the world's third largest
rainforest has a significant role to play in this debate.
"We're talking about a subject which affects us all and a subject in
which potential world leaders in the past actually no longer perhaps
have the role to play they thought they did and that new countries
like Papua New Guinea, they are suddenly the players in this debate," Mr Dunn said.
"We really need to be moving quickly on this issue.
"Its probably the
most important global issue, certainly this is the number one foreign
policy priority for the UK Government."
"The only way to sort of see your way down the road I think, is to
have your own internal roadmap, which sort of helps you get there and
we hope that PNG come to this ultimate aspiration of having a national
climate change policy," Mr Dunn said. |
