Pacific islands are parrotting China's line that the West is mainly responsible for the current CO2. Perhaps it's a payback accusation for letting Covid escape. China now wants US$1 trillion in compensation for the historical CO2 yet half of it is supposed to date from 1990 mainly from China.

As far as I'm aware the islands did not develop cars, computers or vaccines from which they greatly benefit. On cars it was PNG not Australia that bought the unsold fleet of Maseratis. The islanders are ungrateful for no strings attached Australian aid all the while falling into the Chinese debt trap.

I wonder when the islands' leader will say, oh we do not need all that
money now because the sea is not rising. look up oink oink !

Maybe? But that's because we're led by, I believe, incompetent complacent fools unable or unwilling to contemplate life without coal!

And for all the same reasons, I believe, unable to contemplate, cheaper than coal, SAFE, clean thorium fired, carbon-free, virtually nuclear waste-free, nuclear power! And consequently, power prices as low as 1 cent PKWH!

We could have gone to Glasgow with a plan in hand to get to net zero in around a decade and with a model that would put our economy, turbocharged and on a growth path on steroids!

That same model could be offered to island nations along with locally mass-produced (gifted) thorium powered SMR's. That end all reliance on diesel generators.

It can't be done tomorrow, but it can be done progressively in around a decade? As our retasked aid program?
Alan B.

The cheapest & most fragile friendship & loyalty is that bought for a few dollars.

A few dollars at the right time will shatter any friendship so bought. Lets save our money now, so we have more to shatter anything China buys now, if or when it becomes necessary.

The most useless, & most indefensible position is an island. We saw that in WW11 when the US took Jap held islands at will, & left hundreds of thousands of garrison troops isolated on their bypassed islands.

This is even more so today, when just a couple of missiles can leave an entire island useless to it's defenders.

Give the Chinese 15 years or so in tactical possession of the islands, & the people of those islands will hate the Chinese before we get our new subs, if we ever do.

Speaking to Fijians on my trip 2018 at a resort, I think they already don't like the Chinese.

But money talks.

Hopefully Pacific Islanders, and others, wake up sooner rather than later.

Hopefully Pacific Islanders, and others, wake up sooner rather than later
Chris Lewis,
If they do they'll be ahead of Australia !