帕劳总统批评了阿尔巴尼斯政府在堪培拉举行的COP前气候峰会，警告说该活动的成功“取决于我们共同取得的成果，而非参会者是谁”。帕劳总统苏兰吉尔·惠普斯二世本月早些时候曾出席斐济和图瓦卢的Pre-COP会议。该活动由澳大利亚及其太平洋邻国共同组织，因其高达2000万美元的费用以及缺乏世界领导人出席而受到批评。
The President of Palau has slammed criticism of the Albanese government’s pre-COP climate summit while in Canberra, warning the measure of the event’s success is “not by who was in the room but by the result we collectively achieve”. President Surangel Whipps Jr attended Pre-COP in Fiji and Tuvalu earlier this month.
尽管有来自50多个国家的代表参加，但仅有14位外国国家元首到场，且只有东帝汶和毛里求斯两国来自太平洋以外地区。周三，惠普斯在澳大利亚国立大学的一次“坦诚”演讲中表示，他一直在关注媒体对该活动的评论。“媒体审视很重要，但视角同样重要。虽然成本很重要，但价值同样重要，”他说。惠普斯表示，世界领导人和部长们来到太平洋“是为了帮助塑造将决定我们共同未来的谈判”。
The event, co-organised by Australia and its Pacific neighbours, faced criticism over its steep $20m price tag and the lack of world leaders in attendance. While representatives of more than 50 countries attended, only 14 foreign heads of state were present and only two, Timor-Leste and Mauritius, were outside the Pacific.
“然而，有些人却通过统计缺席的领导人来否定这次聚会，而不是认识到到场者的意义，”他说。惠普斯表示，太平洋及其管辖的广阔海域“绝不小”，许多国家依赖这些海域获取食物和“连通性”。“一个国家的重要性不在于它占据多少土地，而在于它在维系我们共同星球中所扮演的角色。按此标准衡量，太平洋绝不小，”他说。
In a “candid” speech to The Australian National University on Wednesday, Mr Whipps said he had followed media commentary of the event. “Media scrutiny is important but so is perspective. And while cost matters, so does value,” he said. Mr Whipps said world leaders and ministers had come to the Pacific “to help shape negotiations that will determine our collective future”.
“确实，许多世界最大工业化国家、最大排放国和污染国的领导人未出席此次Pre-COP。”“但大洋洲国家代表团出席了。那些肩负着对我们共同未来至关重要的地球系统责任的国家也在场。”“最重要的是，我们是有组织地参与的。”
“Yet some have dismissed the gathering by counting the leaders who were absent, rather than recognising the significance of those who came,” he said.
我们做好了准备，我们带着解决方案而来。” 在承认世界上主要污染国需要采取行动的同时，他表示许多“解决方案大国”位于太平洋。“澳大利亚在Pre-Cop期间帮助将这些解决方案大国聚集在一起，为这个决定性时刻做准备。那就是领导力，”他说。“因为对于图瓦卢人来说，他们的家园正受到海平面上升的威胁，这不是一场政治表演。这是他们未来正在被谈判的事情。“太平洋可能最先感受到这些影响，但我们共享同一个地区。今天抵达我们海岸的东西，不久之后也会抵达你们在澳大利亚的海岸。“有人问Pre-COP是否值得其付出的代价。这是一个公平的问题。“这就是我希望你们回答它的方式：不是看谁在房间里，而是看我们在下个月的COP上共同取得的成果。“项目已准备就绪。资金已承诺。系统已投入使用。柴油已被替代。惠及社区的益处。“请以此标准衡量我们。我们有意达到这一标准。” 在一份声明中，外交部长彭妮·沃恩表示，太平洋岛国论坛主席惠普斯先生将在堪培拉期间正式开启帕劳在澳大利亚的大使馆，并续签“发展合作安排”。声明称：“澳大利亚和帕劳也在加强合作，以打击跨国犯罪，包括通过加强警务合作以及支持海关和边境管理。”帕劳是密克罗尼西亚的一岛国，正处于气候危机的前线——同时也是太平洋地缘政治竞争的焦点，因为它是少数仍承认台湾的国家之一。在他的演讲中，惠普斯先生表示，太平洋从未拥有过“能够改变世界的排放量，我们所拥有的只是改变规则的勇气”。“可以想象一个指南针——任何船只上最小的仪器，但绝非无足轻重，”他说。他指出，瓦努阿图和太平洋地区在国际法院追求气候行动。“……对我们而言，海洋不是一个抽象的全球资产。
Mr Whipps said there was “nothing small about” the Pacific and the large ocean areas those countries governed, upon which many nations rely for food and “connectivity”. “The true measure of a nation’s significance is not how much land it occupies but the role it plays in sustaining our shared planet. And by that measure, the Pacific is anything but small,” he said.
这是我们的食物、身份和安全，”他说。“而当人类赖以维系这些系统的社区需要支持时，国际金融体系却常常只给他们提供另一笔贷款。想想这有多荒谬。我们要求地球上一些最小的经济体承担更多债务，以保护一些最大经济体所依赖并从中获利的自然系统。”惠普斯先生表示，太平洋地区人民——“你们的勇气不仅是历史的一部分，更是你们的遗产”——不仅仅是“气候变化的前线”。“我们正在守住这条防线。而且我们这样做，是为了所有称这个星球为家的人，”他说。
“It is true that leaders of many of the world’s largest industrialised nations, and its largest emitters and polluters, were not present at this pre-COP. “But the Big Ocean States were. The nations stewarding planetary systems fundamental to our collective future were there. “And most importantly, we came organised. We came prepared, and we came with solutions.” While acknowledging the need for the world’s big polluters to take action, he said many of the “Big Solution States” were in the Pacific. “Australia helped bring those Big Solution States together at Pre-Cop to prepare for this defining moment. That was leadership,” he said. “Because for the people of Tuvalu, whose homeland is threatened by rising seas, this is no political spectacle. It is their future being negotiated. “The Pacific may feel these impacts first, but we share one region. What reaches our shores today will reach yours in Australia soon after. “Some have asked whether Pre-COP was worth what it cost. That is a fair question. “Here is how I would ask you to answer it: not by who was in the room but by the result we collectively achieve at COP next month. “Projects prepared. Finance committed. Systems commissioned. Diesel displaced. Benefits reaching communities. “Hold us to that measure. We intend to meet it.” In a statement, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Mr Whipps – the chair of the Pacific Islands Forum – would officially open Palau’s Embassy in Australia while in Canberra and renew “a development co-operation arrangement”. “Australia and Palau are also deepening co-operation to combat transnational crime, including through enhanced policing co-operation and support for customs and border management,” the statement said. Palau, an island nation in Micronesia, is on the front line of the climate crisis – as well as geopolitical contest in the Pacific, being one of the last holdouts in recognition of Taiwan. In his speech, Mr Whipps said the Pacific had never had the “emissions to change the world, what we do have is the courage to change the rules”. “Think of a compass – the smallest instrument on any ship but certainly not insignificant,” he said. He noted Vanuatu and the Pacific’s pursuit of climate action at the International Court of Justice. “ … for us, the ocean is not an abstract global asset. It is our food, identity and security,” he said. “And too often, when the communities safeguarding these systems on behalf of humanity need support, the international financial system offers them another loan. “Think about the absurdity of that. We ask some of the smallest economies on Earth to take on more debt to protect the natural systems upon which some of the largest economies depend and from which they profit.” Mr Whipps said the people of the Pacific – whose “courage is not simply part of your history, it is your inheritance” – were not just “on the front line of climate change”. “We are holding that line. And we are doing so for everyone who calls this planet home,” he said.