Author: Sonali P. Chitre

UAE is certainly moving the needle on climate change, heavily promoting investment in renewables and highlighting the Gulf’s commitments to building a green economy and low carbon future. On Sunday Jan. 15, 2017 at the IRENA meeting a press conference was held between Director General of IRENA Adnan Amin and Ambassador Peter Thomson, Fiji’s Ambassador to the United Nations (and President of the UN General Assembly). Fiji is President of COP-23, and COP-23 will focus on the Pacific. Ms. Chitre, as a member of the media, asked about what Amb. Thomson’s response would be as a Pacific leader and UN leader to US government inaction on climate change because of Donald Trump’s Administration filled with climate change skeptics. Amb. Thomson replied that Pacific Island Nations such as Tuvalu, Nauru, & Kiribati are already becoming submerged, as will Florida, and US consumers have seen the writing on the wall (with extreme weather events and coastal erosion) and will not support unsustainable patterns of production and consumption or dirty energy.