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 […]
Tag: Climate
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 […]
Environmental engineering solution for sinking islands
A team of UQ researchers is working tirelessly to find an environmental engineering solution for a very human problem in the Solomon Islands, where the lives of entire communities are in turmoil thanks to drastic sea level rises. Dr Simon Albert wants to solve an urgent, catastrophic environmental engineering conundrum. He is focused on the […]
Suspension of COP25 highlights injustice says Pacific NGOs
The Chilean Government has announced the suspension of the UN Climate Summit (COP25), scheduled to take place in Santiago this December, due to the social demonstrations protesting rising costs, debt and inequality, and marred by heavy-handed arrests from state forces in the past weeks. 350.org Pacific Regional Managing Director, Fenton Lutunatabua issued the following statement: […]
A story of resilience on Wagina island in Solomons
In 1964, young Joseph Teia said goodbye to his home in the Gilbertese islands, boarded a vessel and came to Solomon Islands and never returned. He was seven years old when he left. As a young child, he did not understand why he had to leave his home and his father behind to come to […]
Climate change forcing Pacific Islanders from homes
When Cardinal John Ribat of Papua New Guinea was young, he and his neighbors noticed that their well water tasted of salt. Crops also failed as the soil became salty. Papua New Guinea consists of a large island in the Pacific Ocean surrounded by smaller islands and atolls. Residents of the island where his family […]
US$29 million allocated for new seawall along Ebeye oceanside coastline
Marshall Islands President Dr Hilda Heine has announced a US$29 million funding partnership with the World Bank to design and build a new seawall on Ebeye in the RMI, in a major boost in the fight against climate change. President Heine said even more funding could be allocated to this “very important project” depending on […]
Climate warming promises frequent extreme El Nino events
El Niño events cause serious shifts in weather patterns across the globe, and an important question that scientists have sought to answer is: how will climate change affect the generation of strong El Niño events? A new study, published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science by a team of international climate […]
Not just climate but legal challenges looming
Samoa Supreme Court Justice Vui Clarence Nelson is looking ahead to a future when climate change starts to pose legal challenges, not just environmental ones. While groups of children take entire countries to task over climate change inaction, and students are turning to the International Court of Justice over climate change and human rights, here […]
Marshall Islands declares climate crisis
The Marshall Islands has declared a national climate crisis. The country’s Nitijela, or Parliament, last month passed a resolution making the fight against climate change its top priority. Resolution 83, made public today, says the Marshall Islands continues to struggle to finance a response to the climate crisis. Passed by the Nitijela on 26 September, […]