Nothing like a 6.5 earthquake to clear the air. And then the sun comes out – with blue skies and sunshine.
With the Godly providence of being in the right place at the right time to experience Nature Clashing Storms first-hand – the synchronistic Weather call-out event – it is an opportunity for Islanders to get their message across loud and clear. WE need Loss & Damage funds now, mangroves agriculture solutions, and resilient zero-carbon industries for and our economy and our survival.
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariate consists of 18 Nations and Territories, 13 Observer States, 21 Dialogues Partners , and 1 Development Member, Taiwan – and more than 1,500 delegates from more than 40 countries at this year’s meeting of Pacific member states, all hoping to further their agendas in a region where oceans, resources and strategic power have grown increasingly contested.
Rising seas and natural disasters, as in many Pacific Island nations, have contaminated rainwater and groundwater, unsafe to drink- as well as the increase of plastic bottles.
Blue depicts Pacific Island secretariate members. By D.Liebisch – CC BY-SA 3.0
In the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, Remarks to the Pacific Islands Forum Opening Ceremony : The G20 – the biggest emitters responsible for 80 per cent of those emissions – must step up and lead, by phasing out the production and consumption of fossil fuels and stopping their expansion immediately.
When governments sign new oil and gas licenses, they are signing away our future.
The Pacific Island states’ ambition for a fossil-fuel-free Pacific is a blueprint for the G20 and for the world. But the region urgently needs substantial finance, capacities and technology to speed up the transition and to invest in adaptation and resilience.
With the forum’s largest ever delegation from China and a sizeable delegation from the United States, led by Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, you wonder how much genuine climate change concern of rising seas is for the Islanders communities, and how much is for geopolitical land grabbing and power posturing through finance.
The Pacific Island Forum was particularly ‘loud’ in COP28 securing the establishment of the Loss and Damage fund roll-out with US$420 mil committed on the day- and aprox. US$700 mil to date.
“Loss and damage” refer to the adverse consequences brought about by climate change, and resulting in a range of impacts, such as loss of human lives, damage to infrastructure and buildings, loss of property and crops, as well as the deterioration of ecosystems” – United Nations Development Fund.
Australia is the region’s biggest development partner by a large margin, providing an estimated $5.37 billion in aid to Pacific Island countries over the last 3 financial years.
Other topics include the legacy of nuclear horrors in the region, the cost of living and debt, and regional security — including a Pacific police training center scheduled for construction in Brisbane, Australia, that is seen as a direct challenge to China’s eagerness to equip the law enforcement agencies of some island nations. The recent China- Solomon Islands security agreement raised alarm in Australia and the US, but it also highlighted the governance and security challenges faced by Pacific Island countries.
But can leaders engage in the “Pacific way,” a kind of humble consensus politics that centers on relationships and holds at its heart the idea of the so-called Blue Pacific family — island nations linked by shared culture and heritage, and distinct from the wider Indo-Pacific, whose interests are seen as more disparate and remote.
NAURU once again announced they will commence in 2025 Seep-Sea Mining- 4km below the surface- for rare earth minerals for batteries. The UN Sea Treaty and Authority, and the whole nation states delegation have rebutted Naurus claims and have sort a moratorium. Read FNGN Nauru article HERE+
Dr Angela Clare, Australia Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security: Pacific Island countries face formidable development challenges, including providing employment, infrastructure and services to their young populations, addressing the disruptive effects of climate change, and managing increasing geostrategic competition.
Greenhouse gases are causing ocean heating, acidification, and a dramatic and accelerating rise in sea levels. Pacific islands are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet and our ocean: By declaring a Climate Emergency and pushing for action. And with your Declarations on Sea Level Rise, and aspirations for a just transition to a fossil-fuel-free Pacific.
Founded in 1971, the Pacific Islands Forum brings together 18 member states to discuss and coordinate responses to the issues confronting a remote and diverse region, who know that their countries — with populations as small as 1,500 people — attract more notice on the global stage when they speak with one voice. Its leaders — from Pacific Island nations, some of them among the world’s most imperiled by rising seas, as well as Australia and New Zealand — have long been at the forefront of urging action on climate change.
