PINA

By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Sharm El Sheikh As negotiators scramble to finalise a global climate change pact text before COP27 ends on Friday, some Parties are already predicting a failure of the Egyptian Presidency to listen to the pleas of vulnerable nations – especially around loss and damage financing. For countries like Vanuatu, who have been engaged in...

By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Sharm El Sheikh An initiative to document and preserve the unique languages, customs and culture of the people of Erromango in Vanuatu was showcased at a side event at COP27 Thursday to emphasise the importance of traditional knowledge in addressing climate change. Erromango is the third largest island in Vanuatu’s Tafea Province, with a...

By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Sharm El Sheikh New Zealand has used its statement at the COP27 High-Level Session to appeal to 196 countries who are State Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to ‘make progress on how to collectively manage loss and damage.” James Shaw, Minister for Climate Change assured his country’s commitment...

Australia must stop subsidising new fossil fuel developments if it is to win a key Pacific nation’s support for its plan to co-host a major UN climate summit in 2026. The Albanese government has launched a campaign at the Cop27 climate talks in Egypt to co-host the annual climate conference with Pacific neighbours in four years. The proposal could bring...

Samoa will assume the Chairmanship role of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) from 1 January 2023 for a period of two years. Samoa’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Dr Pa’olelei Luteru, will take over the role from the incumbent chair and Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr Walton Webson. For the Pacific...

As COP27 winds down in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the Solomon Islands has added its voice to last minute desperate pleas to the COP Presidency, and world leaders, to ensure the agenda item on the establishment of a Loss and Damage funding arrangement is given the attention it deserves. As negotiations on an issue many delegates say will determine the success...

Two Papua New Guineans and their two Malaysian counterparts have been arrested in a drug bust in Port Moresby. Altogether 125 kilograms of methamphetamine or crystal meth was confiscated in the raid by the Trans National Crime Unit at 2am Thursday morning. PNG Police Commissioner David Manning called the drugs as ‘a serious growing threat’ to the country. The estimated street value...

The Government of Australia and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme will work in partnership to enhance the engagement of Pacific Islands in the climate change negotiations. The new negotiations support project will help strengthen the negotiation skills of Pacific Islanders, better resourcing them to amplify the Pacific Islands voice. “The Australian Government is pleased to provide this support...

The small island of Niue in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean has demonstrated climate change leadership at COP27, showcasing a home-grown innovative solution to raise funds for climate adaptation and mitigation. Speaking to an audience of world leaders during the resumed high-level segment of the COP27 at the Sharm El Sheikh International Congress Centre on Tuesday, Niue’s Minister...

The U.S and Japan have announced they will back the Australian government's unprecedented move to fund Telstra's purchase of the Pacific's largest telco, stumping up around $150 million(US$100 million) in credit guarantees for the high-profile deal. Telstra announced in July that it had finalised the $2.4 billion (US$1.6 billion) purchase of Digicel Pacific, which has over 2.5 million subscribers across...