Last month, the United Kingdom enjoyed its first full day without the need for coal power since the Industrial Revolution began. That’s remarkable news – and a sign of the future to come as the country that began humanity’s centuries-long romance with burning black rocks is now moving on. Just as the fax gave way to email and whale oil gave way to kerosene, so is coal giving way to cleaner forms of energy. And that handover will happen faster – perhaps fast enough to let us at least slow down the pace of climate change – if the massive and mighty insurance industry would play its part.
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Results for Climate change
Tuesday 11 April 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
It’s rare to find female sailors in Tonga, but 'Aunofo Havea Funaki is not your average Tongan woman - she has been working in a male dominated marine industry in the kingdom for the last 26 years. A passionate advocate of sustainable tourism, 'Aunofo is concerned about the amount of whale watching operators in Vava’u and how they operate. By Eleanor Gee
Saturday 8 April 2017
Melbourne, Australia
With the exception of launching a nuclear war, it is hard to think of anything a US president could do that is liable to harm more people than last month’s order canceling rules issued under former President Barack Obama to freeze the construction of new coal-fired power plants and shut down many old ones. President Donald Trump’s order followed his pledge to rescind stricter fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, and his announcement that he wants to slash spending on climate science. By Peter Singer.
Friday 7 April 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Whale watchers around the world can help scientists track the journey of individual whales by taking photos of the underside of their tails, said Ted Cheeseman, co-founder and CEO of Happywhale, a website platform used to help identify whales using pictures. “The underside of a whale’s tail has markings unique to each whale, just like finger prints are to humans."
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Thursday 6 April 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Pacific Whale Declaration was endorsed and signed today by 11 Pacific countries at the Whales in a Changing Ocean conference, ending on a high note in Nuku’alofa, Tonga. The declaration focuses on stronger whale conservation in the Pacific region with Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tokelau, Tuvalu and Tonga signing on today.
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Tuesday 4 April 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
“All Tongan waters are declared a sanctuary for whales ...The ban against the hunting and killing of whales in Tongan waters remains in force,” Tonga's Acting Prime Minister, Hon Siaosi Sovaleni said at the opening of an international "Whales in a Changing Ocean" conference today in Nuku’alofa.
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Thursday 23 March 2017
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Suva, Fiji
The depletion of water sources in places around the world by 2040, will affect up to 600 million children worldwide, warns a UNICEF report released on March 22 to mark World Water Day. The report focuses on how the wellbeing of children is threatened by lack of access to safe water and how a changing climate will worsen the situation in the future. Pacific Island countries face particular challenges.
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Friday 10 March 2017
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Bonn, Germany
To combat climate change effectively, governments need to ensure that they have access to the best available science in order to make the best policy decisions and to be able to allocate the right resources, policy makers from over 100 countries learned in Bonn, Germany this week.
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Friday 3 March 2017
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Antarctic Peninsula
A huge crack on the Antarctic Peninsula, across the Larsen C ice shelf, set to break free an enormous iceberg six times larger than Tonga’s combined landmass, is being monitored by scientists at Project MIDAS, an Antarctic research group. The crack is more than 100 miles in length and 1,500 feet across and the ice mass could break free within the next few months. The loss of the ice shelf, which acts as a barrier to the flow of land ice, can cause ice to move faster into the ocean contributing to a faster rise of global sea levels.
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Wednesday 15 February 2017
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Manila, Philippines
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a record $3.7 billion in climate operations in 2016, a 42% increase from $2.6 billion it approved in 2015. This comprised $2.65 billion for climate mitigation and $1.08 billion for climate adaptation. In the Pacific, climate operations include the ADB’s proposed Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Investment Program with the support of the Green Climate Fund.
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Wednesday 15 February 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new climate change adaptation project for Tonga, likely to cost more than $40m in grant financing, is expected to be submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) board for approval in June.
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Tuesday 20 December 2016
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Apia, Samoa
Multi-million grants for three new projects have been approved by the Green Climate Fund for Pacific Islands, including Tonga, to assist with the impact of climate change.
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Monday 5 December 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
On a little stage in Nuku’alofa, a powerful resonating message has emerged from a small group of young performers who, in raising awareness of climate change, are urging everyone to take heed of the imminent danger.
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Tuesday 22 November 2016
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Lima, Peru
Climate Change, Oceans and Connectivity are three key issues in the Pacific region that need attention was the message delivered in a Pacific Island Forum (PIF) speech to worldwide leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial meeting in Lima, Peru, on 17-18 November.
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Tuesday 1 November 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Two keynote speakers at the opening of a National Dialogue on "Green Growth" today agreed that Tongans need to consider how they can balance economic development with care for their natural environment. They urged participants to turn discussions over the next few days into lasting action.
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Wednesday 26 October 2016
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Apia, Samoa
A new Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC), jointly funded by the Governments of Japan and Samoa as well as the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) will be based in Apia, Samoa and ready by 2018 to address climate change challenges in the region.
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Thursday 20 October 2016
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Nadi, Fiji
A US$7.5 million Regional Disaster Resilience project, under a partnership between Russia and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was launched on 17 October in Nadi. The Regional Disaster Resilience in the Pacific Small Island Developing States (RESPAC) Project will cover 14 countries including Tonga.
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Tuesday 18 October 2016
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Kigali, Rwanda
An important agreement to an amendment in the Montreal Protocol was signed by almost 200 countries last week in Kigali, Rwanda, to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) usage and production, which could stop a 0.5 °C rise in temperature by the end of the century.
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Friday 23 September 2016
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Apia, Samoa
Stronger guidelines to assess the impact of development on the environment in the Pacific have just been released by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
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Friday 9 September 2016
Facebook
David Tilton on Facebook said: Why not start now? I'm tired of bags of filthy nappies being dropped off on our road. Why can't those bags be picked up in the weekly trash? Why do people feel compelled to drop off their filth in someone else's neighborhood?
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Tonga weather forecast from yr.no, delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the NRK. See also Fua'amotu Weather Forecasting Center, Tonga, for latest local weather bulletin.