Climate Change

Connie Hedegaard, who now chairs the KR Foundation, a climate focused funding platform, praised the movement to shift finance flows away from climate-polluting sectors.

In an exclusive interview with RTCC, recorded for our new Road to Paris podcast, she revealed it is a priority for the fund over the next 18 months.

“I would very much hope that this could be part of a package around the Paris agreement,” Hedegaard said.

That's how the people of Tuvalu feel.

It's predicted the Island nation, the smallest archipelago in the Pacific, could be underwater in the next 30 to 50 years due to rising sea levels.

Tuvalese leaders spoke of their plight at a breakfast event in Mangere last week as part of a Climate Change Tour hosted by NZ NGOs including Tear Fund and Oxfam. The tour aims to create awareness around the effect climate change is having on our pacific neighbours, and continues in Christchurch and Wellington this week.

The vulnerability of the Pacific Islands to climate change has been the subject of significant round table dialogue and discussions based on reliable scientific information.

It is a global problem with wide-ranging impacts and in the South Pacific region, it is essential that the messages are communicated successfully with the various stakeholders to the local communities.

As the chair of the next COP21, France is fully mobilized to achieve an ambitious and legally binding agreement. And its diplomatic network is also mobilized for this.

The very existence of many of the island nations is threatened by the impact of climate change and they feel that their “big brother”, New Zealand, isn’t doing enough to help them.

Among the leaders speaking out, is the general secretary of the Christian Church of Tuvalu and founder of the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, Rev Tafue Lusama.

His homeland, Tuvalu, is projected to be underwater in less than 50 years.

With many of the island nations that dot the Pacific Ocean east of Australia, threatened by rising sea levels, climate change and sustainable development is a common concern.

The 14 nations are: Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Niue, Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Climate change will be a high priority subject at the talks with the 14 nations, Anil Wadhwa, secretary (East) in the ministry of external affairs said at a briefing here.

Jean-Pascal van Ypersele has been a vice-chair of the IPCC for seven years and is now running for the role of chair, to succeed Dr Rajendra Pachauri who stepped down in February.

Speaking in New Zealand during a flying visit, Mr van Ypersele said that developed countries have the power to reduce the rate of global warming, and expressed confidence that change can be achieved:

As part of their planning for the region’s premiere political meeting, to be held in Port Moresby next month, officials will consider a consolidated regional political statement on the global climate negotiations.

Members of the Pacific Islands Forum Officials Committee will consider the text of a statement that brings together the key demands of Pacific island governments in the global climate negotiations.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, made the comment ahead of a lecture that will be delivered in Fiji's capital today.

The second-highest cleric in the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Sentamu is on a visit Samoa, Tonga and Fiji to lead a series of Leadership Reflections on Climate Change at the invitation of the Rev Dr Winston Halapua, the Archbishop of Polynesia.

“Climate change affects everyone: agriculture, tourism, fisheries, water, health and wellbeing," Dr Sentamu said.

The council heard pleas from ministers and ambassadors from Pacific states such as Kiribati, Fiji, Samoa, Niue and the Marshall Islands, and Caribbean countries like St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The island states want financial and technical assistance, to help avoid being washed away in the rising tides and powerful storms caused by global warming.

The president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, says the plight of smaller islands for too long has been at the bottom of the list of priorities of the United Nations and other global organisations.

“Although we flagged that Kiribati is not ready for this change, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had to go ahead. The centre stopped providing these country specific warnings but they have continued providing tsunami information and guidelines on the propagation and expected risk level from each tsunami that could be generated from an earthquake when it actually reaches our shores,” said Toorua.

KMS is the designated national focal point for tsunami in Kiribati and operates a 24 hours a day, seven days a week, service.