PINA

The international community is out of step with Pacific Island nations' needs on covering the costs of adjusting to a warmer world, the aid agency of the Catholic Church says. Economic modelling released at the COP29 climate conference on Thursday revealed Pacific nations need at least US$1.5 billion (AUD$2.3 billion) per year in climate finance. Despite some of Australia's closest neighbours...

Meeting on Thursday with non-governmental entities in Baku for the COP29 climate talks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the crucial role that cities, regions, businesses and financial institutions must play in driving the worldwide effort towards reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century. “We need a massive global effort to steer our world onto a path to safety; you are out in...

The reality is that climate finance continues to be tied up in external interests, impacted by inter-organisation competition and overlapping mandates, and shaped by external preferences, concepts, and priorities. This has been highlighted by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad while speaking at the high-level meeting on climate finance during the COP 29 in Baku. Professor Prasad...

Award winning Pacific journalist Sera Sefeti is at COP29. In a series of Pacific State of Play Conversations screening on Pasifika TV, she shares some questions in talanoa mode with Pacific officials in Baku. She met with Finau Soqo, General Manager for the Pacific Resilience Facility. Below are the key threads of their QnA talanoa, which you can also view...

Australian Dr Brett Robinson has been elected as the new Chair of World Rugby, following two rounds of voting at the 2024 Interim meeting of Council in Dublin, Ireland. At 54, Robinson becomes the first elected Chair from the southern hemisphere. He was chosen over fellow candidates Abdelatif Benazzi (France) and Andrea Rinaldo (Italy), by the 52 members of the...

The Flying Fijians have named their squad for the upcoming clash against Spain, with the spotlight on Saimoni Uluinakauvadra, a former Fiji Warrior and current player for Northland Taniwha in New Zealand. Uluinakauvadra will make his international debut wearing the number 7 jersey, adding fresh energy to the team as he steps into the flanker position. The starting lineup features Eroni...

The Tuvalu government is discouraging its people from migrating despite rising sea levels threatening the vulnerable Pacific Island state. Speaking to FBC News in Baku Azerbaijan, Climate Change and Environment Minister, Dr Maina Talia said the move would be difficult for developed nations to understand. “In terms of mobility, our government’s stand is to discourage our people from moving across,” he...

Government negotiators have asked the co-chairs of the talks on a new climate finance goal to streamline the text by Thursday morning, removing repetitions and redundancies – but not adding anything new or taking away anything substantial. These instructions come one day after negotiators asked the co-chairs to make the nine-page text they had prepared before COP29 longer, by adding...

The international community must fulfil its promises to provide greater financial support to small island countries at the frontline of climate change. This was the main rallying call at the Leaders' Summit of the Small Island Developing States on Climate Change, jointly convened by the COP29 Presidency and Commonwealth Secretariat, in Baku today. The summit was told that, despite contributing...

Visible from space, the mega coral is three times larger than the previous record-breaker, is believed to be about 300 years old, storing a record of ocean conditions from past centuries   A group of scientists working aboard a research vessel in the southwest Pacific Ocean has discovered the world's largest coral. Measuring 34 meters wide, 32 meters long and...