University of Canterbury distinguished Professor Steven Ratuva presented findings from the largest study of climate adaptation in the Pacific region at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Led by Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha University of Canterbury (UC) and the University of the South Pacific (USP), the three-year study involved more than 100 scholars and community experts working across 16 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).
The final report was launched in Azerbaijan, 11 November, at the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29), which is an international forum for world leaders to assess countries’ efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C, in line with the 2016 Paris agreement. UC is one of the very few universities in the world to be accredited to the United Nations climate conferences process.
Professor Ratuva’s team succeeded in negotiating for UC to attend COP and other UN meetings, as well as organising a special side event for the report launch at COP29.
The Pacific Ocean Climate Crisis Assessment (POCCA) study found that a range of climate adaptation strategies, including relocating households and villages, are already being employed across the Pacific region.
The study provided an analysis of climate-change impacts, responses and adaptation strategies in the region using multidisciplinary approaches from natural science, social science, humanities and Indigenous knowledge. It brings to the surface the impacts on emotional, cultural, economic, psychological, and environmental experiences of Pacific communities.
While researchers heard stories of anguish and anxiety caused by the consequences of the climate crisis such as sea-level rise and more severe storms, there were also stories of hope and resilience.
“Pacific people are bringing traditional knowledge and generations of resilience to the current challenges of climate change,” Professor Ratuva says. “It is essential to weave the peoples’ voices and community narratives with scientific evidence to build a complete picture of the unique challenges and the solutions the region faces.”
Professor Ratuva, who is Pro-Vice-Chancellor Pacific and Director of the Macmillan Brown Centre of Pacific Studies at UC, spearheaded the study in response to requests from across the Pacific region, which is disproportionally impacted by climate change.
“Pacific leaders and community organisations were asking for comprehensive research and evidence-based adaptation and resilience strategies, and approaches to address the increasing impacts of climate change,” he says. “We therefore collaborated to create a large-scale study with funding from the Aotearoa New Zealand International Development Cooperation Programme, administered by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.”
All of Aotearoa New Zealand’s universities, as well as universities from Australia and the Pacific region, and Crown Research Institutes joined the project. The resulting 1,000-page, two-volume report sheds light on the impacts of climate change on intersecting issues including culture, health, well-being, socio-economic life, infrastructure, environment, infrastructures, identity, geo-politics, transnational crime, resources, mobility, security, sense of place, governance system, economic well-being, and power relations.
Professor Ratuva invites international leaders to continue discussions of the issues raised by the POCCA report at the 8th Adaptation Futures Conference (AF2025), which is part of the United Nations World Adaptation Science Program (WASP) to be hosted at UC in 2025.
The conference is set to convene 1,500 of the world’s leading network of scientists, practitioners, governments, industry and community, youth, educators and communicators at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre.
