Climate Change

Climate change information trickling down to locals is important for generations to survive.

Climate Change Development Authority entered into an understanding with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to see its iCLAM program delivered to the country.

iCLAM will see basic information made available to the public using the Information Technology platform.

This project has been rolled out in Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu under the guidance of Griffith University.

This initiative is an effort to help serve as a possible defence against the negative effects of climate change and other environmental disasters.

Like most coastal communities in the Pacific, there is an increasing concern over human induced changes affecting fish and other marine life, water quality, erosion and threatening food security.

These communities know too well that the demand for both personal and commercial uses has resulted in the over cultivation of mangroves.

The one day talks are aimed at leading business towards renewables and away from a carbon economy.

With more than a touch of showbiz panache, and among the shaking of hands and platitudes, the commitments started coming through.

The World Bank announced it would stop funding oil and gas exploration and extraction by 2019.

This drew a perfect smile from Sir Richard Branson, but there was more to come.

Two years after the Paris agreement France's president has called together the world's financial and political leaders to come up with action to meet its goals.

Pacific leaders have long called for more financial commitment and innovation to avoid catastrophe.

Emmanuel Macron's main focus for the One Planet Summit is to determine how the financial sector can better support climate action.

The changes necessary will not pay for themselves and innovation is needed.

This was the main point raised recently during the official ending of the Adaptation Fund Project product launching.

This project was to enhance the adaptive capacity of communities to climate change-related floods in the North Coast and Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.

Despite the project ending, coastal communities have recognised the destruction of some of the main climate resilient environmental ecosystems, including mangroves.

The five countries are the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

The company, which is owned by the Pacific Island countries, was set up after states saw a need for a mechanism to protect their people from increasing climate and seismic risks.

It provides a regional catastrophe insurance platform offering cover that can be paid out within 10 days of a triggered event, so governments have access to immediate liquidity for disaster response.

Photo: 350 Pacific Damage caused by tropical cyclone Amos 

Pacific Community Director General Dr. Colin Tukuitonga says climate change is beyond economic survival and it is now a moral issue world leaders must take a stand on.

He says Pope Francis reassured Pacific leaders of his support when they met him in Rome before the COP 23 talks in Bonn.

"Mostly people now are saying that clearly climate change is not a scientific discussion anymore it's actually a moral ethical one."

They hope to play a key role in discussions on how to implement the 2015 Paris agreement on cutting carbon emissions and helping to prevent global warming.

Meeting some members of the Pacific Islands Forum in the Vatican, the Pope shared the concerns of those exposed to frequent extreme environmental and climate events, and the impact of rising sea levels and the continuous deterioration of the barrier reef.

He blamed many of the causes of this “environmental decay” on the short-sighted human activity… connected with certain ways ‎of exploiting natural and human resources.

Internationally-acclaimed scientist, Professor Tim Flannery, is currently in the country, providing in-depth overview of climate change and initiatives PNG can embark on.

Human influence through carbon emissions is the biggest contributor to climate change worldwide.

According to Professor Flannery, China and USA are the biggest emitters.

However, climate change is a global issue and PNG, like other countries, is obliged to join the global community combat it.