AOSIS ministerial meetingin New York on 24th September 2015
Minister Cook is currently in the
Big Apple attending the 70th United Nations General Assembly and
the adoption of the post-2015 Development Agenda. In the margins of
said session above, Minister Cook also attended the AOSIS
Ministerial meeting that was scheduled on the 24th of September to
discuss key AOSIS positions towards Paris COP 21 and to reflect on
work completed relating to sustainable development agendas, such as
the S.A.M.O.A Pathway, the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the
Financing for Development.
Key political issues discussed towards COP 21 in Paris were on
Finance, Differentiation, Loss & Damage and Long-term
temperature Goal. After much deliberation on the contentious issue
of Loss & Damage, Minister Cook took the floor and stressed the
following:
"For Nauru, loss and damage is absolutely crucial that it should
be part of the Paris 2015 agreement that is separate and distinct
from adaptation. I am hearing the views on the table today and from
my understanding, it's the permanence of loss and damage in the
agreement that is most important for our group. Its unfortunate
that the issue of compensation and liability are not in our favor
but for Nauru, we also need to face the political realities and a
clear example of that political reality is that we will never get
loss and damage into the agreement if we are discussing about
compensation and liability. The G77 & China common position is
a huge progress and a great starting point, but it is not the end
point. What I mean here is that our focus for now should be on the
permanence of loss and damage into the Paris 2015 agreement and
knowing the durability nature of the agreement, then the issue of
liability and compensation can be addressed at a later stage or
even in cop decisions, as mentioned by Solomon islands and
Palau"
Minister Cook's intervention was well received by members of
AOSIS, which has helped to shape AOSIS position on Loss &
Damage towards Paris this December.
Minister Cook concluded by acknowledging the outstanding work and
leadership of Maldives (AOSIS Chair).