Climate fuelled disasters were the number one driver of displacement within countries over the last decade, forcing more than 20 million people to leave their homes each year, Oxfam said today. The contentious issue of financial support for communities that have suffered loss and damage as a result of the climate crisis, including people who […]
Category: Our region
Climate change is a factor in turning to China for some Pacific nations
This month, the Trump administration formally began the yearlong process of pulling the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement. It will be the first and only country to quit the 200-nation deal to combat climate change. That’s a big concern for some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, including the small island nations […]
SPC and GIZ sign agreement to support NDC hub
The Regional Pacific Nationally Determined Contributions Hub (NDC Hub) was launched in 2017 as a response to calls from Pacific Island Countries (PICs) for a regional platform to support them in implementing, enhancing and financing their national climate commitments made under the Paris Agreement (CoP 21). Through the NDC Hub, a team of experts from […]
Commonwealth enters new partnership to enhance climate action in Pacific
The Commonwealth has entered into an innovative partnership with a UN agency to enhance climate action and disaster preparedness via satellite earth observation. The partnership will support some small island developing states in the Commonwealth, namely Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, with access to vital satellite-based tools and information on disaster and climate risks to […]
Palau President supports Pacific Islands Environment Leadership Award
In 2020, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the 10th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas will recognise and honour Pacific Islanders with a commitment to environmental sustainability and resilience within the Pacific Islands. The special PIELA ceremony will be held during the 10th Pacific Islands Conference on […]
New diplomat to UN wants more Pacific say over ocean resources
Solomon Islands’ incoming representative to the United Nations wants to ensure Pacific countries gain control over their ocean resources. Transform Aqorau, who was the original chief executive of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, helped turn the group of Pacific Island nations into a force to be reckoned with in the international tuna trade. In […]
World Bank supports Fiji boosts resilience to climate change
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Friday 8th November approved US$64 million in support for Fiji’s efforts to strengthen its medium-term fiscal sustainability, improve the country’s business climate, and build resilience to climate change. The new operation will also support enhancements to Fiji’s business environment through improvements to Fiji’s business registration procedures, as […]
New Ministry planned for climate response in Samoa
The Government of Samoa is in the process of planning to establish a new Climate Change Ministry to deal specifically with the challenges of adapting to global warming. Discussions for the new Ministry’s creation were confirmed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Chief Executive Officer, Ulu Bismarck Crawley, one the sidelines of […]
Dumped fishing gear is biggest plastic polluter in ocean
Lost and abandoned fishing gear which is deadly to marine life makes up the majority of large plastic pollution in the oceans, according to a report by Greenpeace. More than 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, pots and traps used in commercial fishing are dumped and discarded in the sea every year, the same weight as […]
Logging remains a major threat to freshwater biodiversity
Logging remains a major threat to freshwater biodiversity in the Solomon Islands, a recent survey by international and local scientists have found. A team of International and Local Scientists from the French Ichthyological Society (SFI), based at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) Paris, France, and Ecological Solutions, Solomon Islands (ESSI) recently completed freshwater fish, […]