COP23: Call to protect Paris Agreement from assault of President Trump

Flooded Catholic school in Fiji

Fiji will be presiding over the COP2 UN climate summit in Bonn next week. Christian Aid's International Climate Lead, Mohamed Adow, said that this was a fitting year to have the talks presided over by a small island state threatened with sea level rise. He said: "It is a historic moment for the UN climate negotiations to be in the hands of a country on the very front line of climate change. This year we have seen the terrible cost of a warming planet, especially with the island nations in the Caribbean bearing the brunt.

"In Bonn it is vital that the reality of climate impacts suffered by the most vulnerable nations are brought into the heart of the negotiations and effective support provided to those in need. If climate impacts cannot be addressed at a COP under the presidency of a small island state in a year the world has experienced a slew of unprecedented extreme weather events then when can it be?"

Adow added that as this is the first meeting since Donald Trump became American president it was an important opportunity to show the global effort to tackle emissions would not be derailed.

He said: "It is important that the world protects the Paris Agreement from the assault of President Trump. So far Trump's announced withdrawal from the agreement has actually galvanised global action but it's vital that this is demonstrated clearly in Bonn.

"The work done in Bonn will go a long way to laying the ground work ahead of next year's meeting where countries will take stock of their national pledges in the Paris Agreement and ratchet them up to ensure we deliver a safe and secure world for us all."

Adow will be reporting from Bonn throughout the conference.

For more information about the work of Christian Aid, visit: www.christianaid.org.uk