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PM Garibashvili at UN Climate Change Conference
Georgia committed to addressing climate change

Almost 200 countries and about 150 world leaders including United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Paris for the conference yesterday.
Agenda.ge, 01 Dec 2015 - 13:07, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgia sees itself as a "true leader” in addressing climate change, says the country’s Prime Minister at an international climate change conference involving more than 150 world leaders.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili spoke at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris and said his country was a leader in responding to climate change, especially given its substantial use and export of clean energy.

Listen to PM Garibashvili’s entire speech at the Paris Climate Change Conference below.

Almost 200 countries and about 150 world leaders including United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Paris for the conference yesterday.

In his speech, Garibashvili said Georgia was especially susceptible to the effects of climate change because of its topography, which was prone to floods, landslides and mudslides. He also mentioned the June flood that killed 19 and devastated the capital city’s infrastructure.

"We are committed to taking progressive action to mitigate climate change,” Garibashvili said.

He added Georgia had clearly stated its intentions to decrease emissions by 15-25 percent by 2030 in a special document, known as an INDC.

Leading up to the Paris conference, countries were asked to publicly declare what actions they intended to take under a new global agreement by March 2015. The country commitments, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) were expected to indicate through their form and strength what shape any 2015 agreement might take.

The Georgian PM said his country would develop an action plan that would specify how the country should implement its commitment envisaged in its INDC and what international help and Georgia would require to achieving its goals.

"In the Low-Emission Development Strategy that we are currently developing, we have provided and integrated a comprehensive pathway for long term sustainable development and it will help us to achieve our international climate change commitments,” the PM said.

Garibashvili also noted Georgia had mainstreamed climate change into other national strategies but believed world leaders needed to reach an international agreement.

"I cannot underscore more the importance of reaching such an agreement … and failing to agree, in a sense, would be agreeing to fail,” he said.

Garibashvili was invited to the United Nations Climate Change Conference by French President Francois Hollande.

While in Paris, the Georgian PM honoured the victims of the recent Paris terrorist attacks and said Georgia stood and would always stand by France and its people, noting terrorism was a threat that could not be eliminated without united action from the whole world.