Climate exit ‘erodes US credibility in the Pacific’

Regional leaders say the US decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement will undermine American credibility in the Pacific.

Funafuti Atoll in Tuvalu.

Pacific leaders say the US decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement will undermine American influence and credibility in the region.

Pacific Island Forum chairman Kausea Natano, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, said governments engaged in strategic competition in the region should respect the wishes of its people and “support our stewardship of this great oceanic continent”.

“In the post-war period, America has often played a leadership role in supporting multilateralism and promoting a global rules-based system to enable collective responses to international problems,” Mr Natano said.

“It is disappointing to see this ethos fade and falter when we need it the most.”

The admonition comes as the US seeks to ramp up its influence in the Indo-Pacific to counter a rising China, with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross declaring in Thailand this week that the Trump administration was ­“extremely engaged and fully committed to the region”.

The US embarked this week on the process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, notifying the UN of its intention to leave. The notification begins a one-year process of exiting the global climate change accord, coming into effect the day after the 2020 US election.

Donald Trump made withdrawing from the agreement one of his election campaign pledges but UN rules had prevented it from starting the process before November 4 this year.

Pacific leaders were also angered at Scott Morrison’s refusal to make deeper commitments to tackling climate change at the last PIF leaders’ meeting in August, where the Prime Minister resisted demands to end Australia’s ­reliance on coal.

Under the PIF’s Kainaki II Declaration signed in August, PIF member nations including Australia agreed that global warming must be limited to 1.5C to ensure the ­future of the “Blue Pacific”.

“Statements of friendship, expanded aid programs and high-level visits must be better backed by domestic policies and action to reduce emissions, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, in order to avert a climate catastrophe,” Mr Natano said.