Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Kiribati president pessimistic about climate change conference

Posted at 04:16 on 18 December, 2009 UTC

The President of Kiribati says he accepts the prospects of achieving a comprehensive climate change agreement at the United Nations conference are not looking good.

But as the Copenhagen conference draws to a close, President Anote Tong says he has no choice but to keep hoping for something that will guarantee his country’s survival.

“I think the developments don’t appear to give us a great deal of reason for optimism but I don’t think we should give up, I think we should continue to persist and try and achieve something. We have no choice. We cannot go away without reaching an agreement.”

The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong