Pacific leaders gather in New York to discuss Climate Security Challenges and Opportunities

Moderated by UN Resident Coordinator to Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, Sanaka Samarasinha, this dialogue will guide the development of the next phase of the Climate Security Initiative for the Pacific region.

Joined by the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Henry Puna, and the UN’s Assistant Secretary General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Mohamed Khaled Khiari, it was an important opportunity to discuss the expansion of interventions on climate security in the Pacific, and to share country-specific insight on climate security challenges and opportunities.

Dr Prasad said: “The security dimension of climate security is obvious, but it’s frustrating to find the adequate language to describe the daily realities of Pacific peoples and these different dimensions - food, sovereignty, health, economic growth, migration and much more. The implications are substantial for Pacific small island states.”

Vanuatu’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Odo Tevi, said further action on greenhouse gases, greater ambition, and stronger partnerships remain urgent.

“For a country like Vanuatu who has just graduated from ‘least developed country’, our future is uncertain, Cat 5 cyclones have become normal for us – we need solutions. This is only possible if we work together. It’s important to see that the UN is putting greater focus on climate change,” he said.  

Marshall Islands’ Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Elizabeth Kabua stressed that the economic security of Northern Pacific nations including the Marshall Islands remain under great strain and “there is still so much work to do and stronger links to be built together.

Offering some insight into traditional knowledge was Palau’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ilana Sein who added: “In Palau, we emphasise traditional knowledge and we’re exploring sustainable aquaculture because we’re seeing lots of typhoons and storms”.

Tuvalu’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Justice and Communications, Hon. Simon Kofe, expressed an urgent need for development partners to back steps being made by Pacific nations.

“We are taking our own bold steps in the Pacific, but our development partners can also assist us by supporting our legal positions, signing our joint communiques, and contributing to strategic efforts toward coastal adaptation and land reclamation,” he said.

In 2020, the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund approved its first Pacific regional project, with a focus on climate security in Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, and at the regional level. The project is led by UNDP and IOM, in partnership with key government departments and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

In addition to this project, the UN has also been supporting the human migration project, adaptation and resilience project across the Pacific.

The Climate Security in the Pacific project aims to enable greater and more inclusive understanding around climate inducted security risks as well as to strengthen ad hoc responses and support advocacy efforts in relevant regional and global fora.

ENDS