In recent weeks, children marched, nations made promises and teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg scolded world leaders for “failing us.” But while one of the groups most vulnerable to climate change, the Pacific Islands, may have received fewer headlines, it was among those making the strongest calls for action. Pacific Island government officials in New […]
Category: Tuvalu
Ocean at ‘breaking point’: Pacific angst at latest climate report
For 74-year-old Teaga Esekia, a chief from the Tuvalu island of Vaitupu, the ocean is a lifeblood. “Tuvaluans, they have different types of months, not like January to December,” said the elderly but agile man, who still climbs coconut trees every day. “They have their seasons according to fish and planting. We tell the time […]
Tuvalu youth to join strike for climate in New York
A young woman from the climate change-impacted island country of Tuvalu, is attending the first ever UN Youth Climate Summit in New York on Saturday, 21 September. Lilipeti Suiti Faavae is one of 500 hundred young people from around the world selected to attend the Youth Climate Summit after demonstrating their commitment to addressing […]
Forum marathon reveals tensions over climate policy
In a marathon leaders’ retreat that continued well into the night, with often heated debate, the Pacific Islands Forum has issued a joint communique and a new declaration on climate change. Throughout this week in Tuvalu, the Australian delegation has defended a series of negotiating red lines against strong pressure from island leaders, seeling more […]
Fiji PM calls for urgent need for the world to step up its response to climate threat
Pacific Islanders and climate-vulnerable people the world over will welcome our collective declarations at the end of the 50th Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu on the urgent need for the world to step up its response to the climate threat says Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimara. “There is no doubt that holding our gathering in […]
Why this Time cover is a disgrace to the climate realities of Pacific islanders
Eleven thousand. That’s approximately how many people are living in Tuvalu right now. That is exactly how many people are facing direct threats to their homes, livelihoods and identities as a result of rising sea levels, storm surges, cyclones and the other climate change-related events hitting Tuvalu on a monthly basis. Hundreds have already left […]
Tuvalu bans single use plastic starting August 1
FUNAFUTI, 29 JULY 2019 (RNZ PACIFIC) — A single use plastic ban and importation levy comes into force in Tuvalu from the beginning of August to help deal with waste in the small remote islands. It’s hoped the new measures will ease pressure on an overflowing rubbish dump on Fogafale where most of the population […]
ISACC project strengthens institutions in Tuvalu to access and manage climate finance
The Institutional Strengthening in Pacific island Countries to adapt to Climate Change (ISACC) project is assisting Tuvaluan practitioners who are engaged with climate change related projects. Ms. Susan Tupulaga, National Coordinator of the ISACC project in Tuvalu, said that although Tuvalu does not receive direct funding from ISACC, it receives benefits in other ways which […]
Forced displacement last option, says Tuvalu PM
PACIFIC Island nations need to address the issue of climate change displaced communities as it affects livelihoods, culture and society, says Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. Speaking during a press conference at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) office in Suva yesterday, Mr Sopoaga said although it was […]