PAPUA New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister James Marape has blamed big industrial countries like the United States, China, Japan, India, Europe for causing climate change with their carbon emissions that affect the Pacific Islands.
PM Marape issued the strong statement during the High-Level Session of the 2025 Honiara Summit at Friendship Hall, East Honiara yesterday.
The summit focuses on meaningful action and innovation towards achieving SDG14: Life Below Water with a dedicated focus on the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources for our sustainable development.
PM Marape said the Blue Pacific Strategy to ensure they comply with the SDG 14.
However, he said the SDG 14 has arrived later because the Pacific people practiced sustainable fisheries for millennium of years.
PM Marape said the big polluters have caused sea-level rise and not the Pacific.
“And if there is any sense of morality left in you, take this message back to your countries. The ocean, a big asset of planet Earth, that is a carbon sink, that is a supermarket, that is a super highway for all your ships and submarines, needs help.
“And in the context of fisheries, please assist us. Assist us with technology to stop illegal fishing. That is depleting our fish,” he said.
PM Marape then called on the bigger countries to stop illegal fishing in Pacific waters.
He also called on the Pacific Community to advocate for climate change as they produce 50 per-cent of the tuna stock in the Blue Pacific continent.
He said East New Britain initiative (ENBi) is all about sustainable resource management.
“The export of unregulated fish out of our waters must stop.
“For PNG, one day soon, on September 16 this year, will announce that no catch in our waters leaves our waters. All catches will be brought back into our country to be assessed and processed in our country,” he said.
PM Marape said the ENBi is also about giving land to Micronesians and Polynesians as the PNA members may have fish, but they need land to process their fish.
PNA members are Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, plus Tokelau.
“It is about time we move towards stopping the direct export of fish and instead process them our own countries. Together we can monitor how much we catch and how much we export to the world market out there that needs food the greatest,” he said.
By EDDIE OSIFELO
Solomon Star, Honiara
