PINA

In a powerful call to action at COP29, Sefanaia Nawadra, Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), stressed the urgency of reaching a meaningful climate agreement to protect the future of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Speaking from the High-Level Segment in Baku, Nawadra emphasised that the stakes for the Pacific are nothing short of...

U.S deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said he hoped the incoming Trump administration would work with allies Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific, amid “acute strategic competition” with China and not withdraw from the region. Responding to China's police presence in Pacific islands and its security pact with the Solomons, the Biden administration stepped up diplomacy, with more...

U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III will wrap up his Indo-Pacific trip in Fiji this week, marking the first-ever visit by a U.S. defence secretary. While in Fiji, Austin will meet with Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa. The secretary is expected to announce that the U.S and Fiji will begin negotiations...

Vanuatu voters will head into a snap election within the next 60 days after President Nikenike Vurobaravu dissolved parliament, earlier this week. It's the fifth change in government since 2022, and widespread public disappointment has been reported as dissolutions and petitions of no confidence continue to disrupt the running of the country. Early this year, Vanuatu voted for a referendum to...

Tonga’s Internal Affairs Minister Lord Vaea has delivered a clear and urgent message on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum at the UN ESCAP Asia-Pacific Ministerial meeting, highlighting both the progress and the challenges faced in advancing gender equality in the Pacific region. Lord Vaea emphasised the collective commitment of the 18-member regional bloc to a future where peace, security,...

As the clock ticks towards the end of COP29 in Baku Azerbaijan, Vanuatu has expressed deep concerns about the lack of progress made on some key ticket items, including the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance, the Mitigation Work Program (MWP) and Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). Speaking during the resumed High Level session at the Nizami plenary...

Pulaalii Nikolao Pula and Pulu Ae Ae Jr are the winners of Tuesday’s gubernatorial run-off election in American Samoa. They polled 5,846 votes or 59.8 percent of the 9,771 votes cast while incumbents, Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga and Lt Governor Laapui Talauega Eleasalo Ale received 3,925 votes or 40.2 percent. The results are unofficial until after 7 days. Pula and Pulu topped...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Baron Waqa has issued a stark warning Wednesday to global leaders at COP29, declaring climate change the greatest existential threat to Pacific nations and urging swift action on climate finance and emissions reduction. “For our Pacific Island nations, climate change poses the single greatest existential threat to our survival. The rising sea levels in our...

The Solomon Islands has welcomed the focus of COP29 on climate finance. However, the COP Presidency and parties have been reminded not to lose sight of the need to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. “Our survival and the health of our planet to be able to sustain life depends on limiting global temperature rise,” Trevor Manemahaga, Minister of Environment...

Thirty nine small island and low-lying nations have urged world leaders to ensure the so-called ‘climate finance COP’ in Azerbaijan offers a beacon of hope for the “unheard voices” who deserve “climate justice.” Pacific Islands, Caribbean, African, Indian and South China Seas States, who are members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), have also called for COP29 to...