Pacific

Marshall and Solomon Islands call for $100 levy on shipping emissions

12 Apr 21 - The Marshall and Solomon Islands are calling on the International Maritime Organisation to introduce a US$100 levy on GHG emissions.

Questions over Samoa flood defence project

22 Feb 21 - Flood walls in Samoa financed by the UN’s flagship climate fund are inadequate and could put people in danger, experts warn.

Is Pacific Forum Zoomed to fail?

2 Feb 21 - Pacific diplomacy hinges on in-person discussion but web-only meetings have fed a growing dispute over the forum’s leadership and purpose.

How Pacific nations can survive climate change

1 Jul 20 - They contribute only 0.03 per cent of global carbon emissions, but small island developing states, particularly in the Pacific, are at extreme risk to the threats of climate change.

Honolulu mayor wants to sue Big Oil

8 Nov 19 - Honolulu mayor Kirk Caldwell wants the city to sue major oil companies for the damage he says they have done to the island of Oahu.

Cook Islands sacked me, says opponent of seabed mining

22 Oct 19 - The public champion of the world’s largest marine reserve – the Cook Islands’ Marae Moana – has said she lost her job managing it because she supported a moratorium on seabed mining in the Pacific.

Rugby stars are losing their Pacific islands

2 Oct 19 - Whatever happens on the pitches, rugby stars from the Pacific islands face a battle back home to save their ancestral lands from rising sea levels.

Pacific nations seek cash to clean up shipping

25 Sep 19 - A coalition of Pacific island nations wants to raise $500m to make all shipping in the Pacific Ocean zero carbon by the middle of the century.

Surf's still up but climate is changing Hawaiian beaches

16 Aug 19 - Climate change is taking the fun out of surfing, swimming, and snorkeling in Hawaii.

Australia seeks to water down Tuvalu declaration

14 Aug 19 - Australia is trying to water down a declaration on the urgent need for climate action at the South Pacific Forum meeting about to get under way in Tuvalu.

Australia puts $500m into Pacific climate fund

13 Aug 19 - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will unveil a $500m climate change and oceans funding package for the Pacific region when he attends the Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu this week.

Fiji calls world leaders selfish and irresponsible

8 Aug 19 - Fiji will introduce one of the world’s most ambitious legislative programmes to tackle the climate crisis, and has labelled the global community grossly irresponsible and selfish.

NZ stays out of islands' beef with Australia

2 Aug 19 - New Zealand is not joining other Pacific countries in criticising Australia’s plans to use Kyoto credits to meet its Paris Agreement target.

Pacific leaders serve Australia with blunt warning

1 Aug 19 - Pacific leaders have called on Australia to abandon plans to use carry-over credits to meet Paris climate targets and to immediately stop new coalmining, warning some of their countries could be...

Energy company brings solar to islands

22 Jul 19 - New Zealand sustainable energy company Infratec has successfully completed a $16 million project to deliver reliable renewable energy to four islands in the Cooks.

Migration can't be only option on drowning islands

5 Jul 19 - The story of Kiritimati atoll sheds light on the issues facing those living on such islands all around the world, and the inadequacy of current international policy.

Vanuatu eyes ban on disposable nappies

24 Jun 19 - Vanuatu, which has already introduced one of the toughest single-use plastic bans , is believed to be the first nation to propose a ban on disposable nappies.

Pacific sucks up more anthropogenic emissions

5 Jun 19 - The rate that the Pacific Ocean takes up human-caused emissions of carbon has increased between 1991 and 2017, a new study finds.

Pacific leaders urge Morrison to act

23 May 19 - Pacific leaders have urged Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to do more to fight the climate crisis.