SUVA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Pacific Island Forum (PIF) welcomes the swift ratification of the Paris agreement on climate change, Dame Meg Taylor, secretary general of the PIF's Suva-based secretariat said Friday.
"This is a pivotal moment for the planet and a lifeline for the most vulnerable people of the Pacific," " Taylor said in a statement, adding that Pacific countries need urgent action on climate change and the speed with which the countries of the world have responded to the call for action is inspiring.
"For years, the Pacific Islands Forum has been calling on the world to take ambitious action towards addressing the adverse effects of climate change and the provision of scaled up finance," Taylor said, adding that the momentum that has developed over the last nine months has been "truly inspiring".
At the annual Pacific Islands Forum meeting in the Federated States of Micronesia in September, Pacific leaders were united in their call to forum members, dialogue partners and other countries to ratify the agreement as soon as possible.
To date, 14 PIF member countries and eight dialogue partners have ratified the agreement, according to the PIF's secretariat.
The Paris agreement on climate change is expected to enter into force in the first week of November.
