Climate Change

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, made the comment ahead of a lecture that will be delivered in Fiji's capital today.

The second-highest cleric in the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Sentamu is on a visit Samoa, Tonga and Fiji to lead a series of Leadership Reflections on Climate Change at the invitation of the Rev Dr Winston Halapua, the Archbishop of Polynesia.

“Climate change affects everyone: agriculture, tourism, fisheries, water, health and wellbeing," Dr Sentamu said.

The council heard pleas from ministers and ambassadors from Pacific states such as Kiribati, Fiji, Samoa, Niue and the Marshall Islands, and Caribbean countries like St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The island states want financial and technical assistance, to help avoid being washed away in the rising tides and powerful storms caused by global warming.

The president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, says the plight of smaller islands for too long has been at the bottom of the list of priorities of the United Nations and other global organisations.

“Although we flagged that Kiribati is not ready for this change, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had to go ahead. The centre stopped providing these country specific warnings but they have continued providing tsunami information and guidelines on the propagation and expected risk level from each tsunami that could be generated from an earthquake when it actually reaches our shores,” said Toorua.

KMS is the designated national focal point for tsunami in Kiribati and operates a 24 hours a day, seven days a week, service.

Acting Director of Tuvalu Meteorological Service, Tauala Katea told the Third Pacific Meteorological Council meeting the new glossary will have the English weather forecasting terms translated into Tuvaluan.

“The glossary will greatly assist the work of journalists who will deliver the weather information to the people in the islands,” said Mr.Katea.

Journalists in Tuvalu have been struggling with the translation of weather and climate terms into the vernacular language.

“Yes we still receive information from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) in Hawaii. However, the decision to declare a warning for tsunami is now our own responsibility,” says Eden Skilling, a Meteorological Officer from FSM.

When a tsunami threat is received from the PTWC, the FSM Meteorological Service, the national focal point for tsunami, will analyse and evaluate the information before it is sent to the Disaster Co-ordinator Office.

 From Vanuatu Daily Post/PACNEWS