As the Pacific Resilience Meeting: Managing Climate and Disaster Risk for a Resilient Pacific unfolds, leaders and stakeholders from across the region have gathered to tackle the urgent challenges posed by climate change, a daily reality for Pacific Island nations.
Pacific Islands Forum Acting Secretary General, Esala Nayasi emphasised the urgency of the situation, recalling last month’s Leaders’ annual meeting in Tonga, where “Mother Nature attended the opening with a torrential downpour and an earthquake.”
He stated, “While the global debate on funding for loss and damage, a new quantified collective goal, and climate action continue to rage on, for us here in the Pacific, climate change is our daily lived reality.”
Nayasi highlighted the need for a collective regional approach to resilience, referencing Tonga’s Prime Minister, who recently declared, “It is important that we embed the idea of resilience in all of our regional priorities, from climate change adaptation to economic development and trade, regional security, education, and health, environmental protection.”
This recognition aligns with the Leaders’ commitment to transformative and resilient development in the face of climate change, as well as addressing the unacceptable mounting threats of sea level rise on statehood and maritime boundaries.
The significance of the week is underscored by recent visits from prominent figures such as the UN Secretary General and the World Bank President, which provided an opportunity to showcase the Pacific’s realities and achievements.
Nayasi stated, “The UN Secretary General emphasised that the world has much to learn from the Pacific,” expressing gratitude for the support received at both regional and national levels.
This week serves as a critical time for reflection and planning, where participants will take stock of existing efforts and identify what more needs to be done at both the national level and collectively as one Blue Pacific.
Nayasi reiterated the importance of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which aims to ensure the well-being and prosperity of Pacific people through values that promote accountability and respect for each other and support inclusivity, equity and equality.
“More specifically, the 2050 Strategy emphasises the need to expand the consideration of climate change within our development approach and strategic posture,” he said.
The Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) and the Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP) were endorsed by regional leaders as key initiatives to address the cross-cutting nature of climate change.
He reiterates that “climate change presents the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and well-being of the Pacific”, noting the adoption of the Boe Declaration that elevates climate change as a standalone regional security priority.
He also highlighted the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility, reaffirming the region’s commitment to strengthen collaboration and proactively respond to the destructive impacts of climate-related mobility.
Fiji’s deputy Prime Minister, Biman Prasad, echoed the importance of coordinated action, stating that this gathering is pivotal as the region prepares for the Pacific Pre-COP discussions leading up to COP29.
“Within those deliberations, we must focus on translating our national and regional requirements into positions that can influence the negotiations at an international level,” Prasad stated.
He emphasised, “at the core, our efforts will remain focused on keeping global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees. The difference between 1.5 and 2 or 3 degrees becomes a matter of survival for our people and communities.”
Prasad highlighted the critical nature of this gathering.
“Our focus is squarely on us. On our needs and challenges and very importantly on our strategies and existing and emerging opportunities for increasing our ability, resources, and capacity to tackle the impacts of the climate crisis.”
The discussions this week are particularly timely, following the Sendai Framework Mid-term Review and the ongoing efforts to operationalise the Fund for Loss and Damage.
Prasad called on all participants to be active and ambitious, aligning their contributions with the directives set forth by regional leaders.
“The outcomes need to be in line with the directives our leaders and importantly with the needs of our communities that continue to face the brunt of this international crisis.
“We must continue to work together as the Blue Pacific to ensure that global mechanisms and support are appropriately targeted to our needs,” he said.
