(recast) Fiji urges deep cuts to reverse environmental degradation

Fiji on Tuesday appealed for deeper cuts in carbon emission to reverse the current trend of global warming.

Addressing the high-level general debate of UN General Assembly which started here Tuesday, Fijian Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama said the two-degree cap is not enough.

"We are alarmed by scientific predictions that the two-degree cap on global warming over pre-industrial levels agreed to in Paris is not enough to save us," he said.

The prime minister urged the world to embrace the 1.5 degree cap so as to spare Small Island Developing States from the nightmare scenario in which a single event could wipe out their economy and set the country back for decades.

Small Island Developing States, including Fiji, have long faced existential threat as a warming globe brought about extreme weathers and rising sea levels.

According to a monthly report released recently by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2016 will be hottest year on record, with each of the first seven months setting new temperature records.

In March, Cyclone Winston, packing winds of more than 300 km an hour, killed 44 people in Fiji and left many thousands homeless.

"Mercifully, it spared our main tourism areas -- our principal source of income -- so our wider economy remained intact. But if this is what awaits us as global warming triggers weather events that are more frequent and more extreme," the prime minister said.

"Our message from the Pacific is this: the two-degree cap is not enough ... More decisive global action than we are currently witnessing," he added.

Over 140 world leaders are gathering in New York to attend this year's general debate which lasts from Sept. 20 to Sept. 26. This year's theme for the General Assembly is "The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Universal Push to Transform our World." Enditem