Fiji, June 22 -- Pacific Island nations have delivered a sharp rebuke to countries seeking to weaken climate ambition at the UN climate negotiations in Bonn, warning that efforts to sideline science threaten the future of the world's most vulnerable communities.

Speaking on behalf of the 14-member Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) group at the Defend the Science press conference on Wednesday, Fiji's Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, Dr Sivendra Michael, condemned attempts to remove references to climate science and the 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature limit from negotiation texts.

"Let me be absolutely clear, anyone that is blocking references to science, they are not our friends," Dr Michael said.

The...