Climate Change

Ambassador Catherine Ebert-Gray signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) alongside UNDP’s Resident Representative, Dirk Wagener, to manage and deliver UNDP’s Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) through the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Ready project. 

“The U.S. government believes that every country must be given the opportunity to carve their own path to self-reliance and sustainable development,” said Ambassador Ebert-Gray.

But observers said no substantial change is expected for Australia's engagement in the region after the Coalition's surprise win at the weekend.

Shane McLeod of the Australian think-tank, the Lowy Institute, said Australia's so-called Pacific step up, a suite of policies and funding initiatives brought in in 2017, will likely continue.

But he said with losses on the hard right, there may be more room for the government to manoeuvre on climate change.

Following a high-level political dialogue with the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres in Suva, the leaders issued a statement saying climate change is the ‘single biggest threat to our Blue Pacific region.”

Forum Chair and Nauru President, Baron Waqa read the statement on behalf of the leaders.

The Pacific leaders said all countries must take decisive and transformative action to reduce global emissions and ensure at scale mitigation and adaptation support for those countries that need it.

Antonio Guterres attended a community roundtable event in Auckland Monday, as he kicked off his Pacific tour.

He departs for Fiji on Tuesday before heading to Tuvalu and Vanuatu to complete his regional tour.

Mr Guterres said the Pacific islands were the first victims of climate change.

"Not only some of them because of the rising level of water represents an existential threat, some might disappear, but also because of course climate change brings with it a lot of negative consequences," he said.

This was a key message during a March 22^nd panel discussion at the Catholic Bishops Conference in Port Moresby, led by the Social Communications Commission.

Sub Regional Country Representative for Catholic Relief Services, Matthew McGarry, said the issue of climate change was one that needed to be immediately addressed as it was growing, and individually we could do our part to reduce it.

However, McGarry said because climate change was a bigger global issue, it would need actual political intervention to solve the problem.

The broadcaster said it could lead to the collapse of civilisations and the extinction of "much of the natural world".

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of United Nations-sponsored climate talks in Katowice, Poland.

The meeting is the most critical on climate change since the 2015 Paris agreement.

Sir David said: "Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate change.

The 4th US National Climate Assessment, released at the weekend, is the federally sanctioned work of about 300 academics and experts on the threat posed by climate change.

The assessment devotes a chapter to the US Pacific.

Zena Grecni, is the Project Specialist for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment based at Honolulu's East-West Center.

She said in the four years since the last report, threats from climate change had increased substantially.

A new public-private partnership between the Government of Papua New Guinea’s Climate Change and Development Authority, Oil Search Limited and U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, Catherine Ebert-Gray, was formalised recently.

The goal of this partnership is to assess the impact of climatic changes and to establish programs to create a more resilient future for Papua New Guineans.

Vanuatu's prime minister Charlot Salwai, a longtime supporter of West Papuan self-determination, told the General Assembly in New York that decolonisation must remain on the UN agenda.

He said the Human Rights Council must investigate human rights abuses in the Indonesian provinces.

The Marshall Islands president, Hilda Heine, told the assembly's 73rd session that the Pacific Islands Forum supported "constructive engagement" with Indonesia on the issue.

While Tuvalu's prime minister Enele Sopoaga continued his call for recognition of the indigenous people.

Ms Ardern is pledging $300 million in climate-related assistance over four years, an increase of $100 million.

The prime minister made the announcement in New York where she is attending for the United Nations General Assembly this week along with about 140 other world leaders.

Action on climate change is high on her agenda.

In a speech to the Climate Week conference she said climate change posed a security threat to vulnerable nations including New Zealand's Pacific neighbours.

Ms Ardern said it challenged international legal frameworks.