Climate Change

As part of this effort, SPC is developing a coastal inundation forecasting tool for the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Coastal Inundation Forecasting Demonstration Project (CIFPD) in Fiji.

This tool will be demonstrated in the Coral Coast before being replicated in other areas within Fiji including the Nadi River catchment.

This project has been established at the request of the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) and made possible with donor funding from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) in 2017.

This was a key message by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature at the first Oceania Ecosystem Services Forum in Brisbane held 27-31 March 2017.

Pacific island people rely heavily on ecosystem services and natural resources to support their national economies and community livelihoods.

With the EU's current partnership agreement with the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries expiring in 2020, they are working towards a new agreement.

Stefano Manservisi, the Director-General of DEVCO, is visiting the Pacific, taking in visits to Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand.

He said the EU was proposing to embed in a new agreement a "specific Pacific pillar", based on common objectives.

For Tokelau, this is now underway with a special inception workshop held in Samoa, to plan implementation of the different activities.

With the Tokelau General Fono recently endorsing the Tokelau Climate Change Strategy – 'Living with Change' the protection of the ocean is featured as a high priority.

 Being part of the New Zealand Pacific Partnership on Ocean Acidification (NZPPOA) regional project to build resilience to ocean acidification is especially important for Tokelau and her community.

“We are dealing with scientific facts, not politics. And the facts are clear. Climate change is a direct threat in itself, and a multiplier of many other threats,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told a General Assembly High-Level action event aimed at invigorating political momentum on climate change, highlighting its deep links to the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.
 
Guterres said his messages to the meeting are simple.
 

In November, Fiji will be the president of the global climate change negotiations known as COP23, which follow on from landmark talks that led to a key climate agreement in Paris in 2015.

Krishneil Narayan, the co-ordinator of the Pacific Islands Climate Network, an umbrella organisation for 58 regional organisations, said this allows Pacific countries a real opportunity to highlight their plight.

The secretary general, Dame Meg Taylor, is leading a delegation to Beijing, Guangzhou and Hainan Province, with a focus on partnerships for sustainable development.

She said China was a valued partner of the Pacific region and the Forum was looking forward to a deeper and more dynamic relationship.

Dame Meg said increasingly China was taking a leadership role in addressing climate change.

She said the agency hoped it continues this role as the world implements the bold initiatives of the Paris Agreement.

Photo: AFP Dame Meg Taylor 

Breaking a decade-long tradition of endorsing open trade, G20 finance ministers and central bankers made only a token reference to trade in their communique on Saturday, a clear defeat for host nation Germany which fought the new US government's attempts to water down past commitments.

That was just a year after the group, made up of the world's 20 largest economies, vowed to "resist all forms of protectionism".

It is the first grant Nauru has received from the GCF since the full operationalisation of the Fund. The readiness proposal was made possible with technical support from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, in consultation with the GCF Pacific Regional Adviser.

Nauru welcomed news of the readiness grant with National Designated Authority & Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Michael Aroi, saying “it will support additional capacity to progress Nauru’s climate change finance priorities and engagement with the Green Climate Fund.”

“It is no secret that the United States federal administration under President Trump appears to be less enthusiastic about the Paris Agreement,” Mr Bainimarama told the Fijian Parliament.

He said during their meeting with United Nations top climate change administrator, Patricia Espinosa last week in Suva, both agreed that the world cannot afford to drop the ball at this critical stage.