By Katalina Siasau

Tonga's Prime Minister Hon. Hu'akavameiliku and Tonga's delegates including the Speaker Lord Fakafanua, Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet Mr. Paula Ma'u, MAFF CEO Dr. Viliami Manu, Tonga MET Director 'Ofa Fa'anunu, and others, are attending the 28^th meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28) that started yesterday, and will run for the next two weeks until 12 December 2023 at Expo City, Dubai.

At the COP28 opening ceremony, the newly elected President for the COP28 session, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber noted, “We come from different nations, different backgrounds, and different generations, yet we share something vital. At some point in each of our lives, we all made a choice. A choice to help carry the burden of a great responsibility. To raise our hands and bear some portion of the weight on our shoulder. That choice is why we are all here in the UAE, today.”

He highlighted the three core elements of the climate agenda; Mitigation, Adaptation, and means of Implementation.

“United around higher ambitions, giving clear directions on nationally determine contributions, and connecting everything we agree here, to practical actions in the real world,” he said.

He urged all members to start this COP with a different mindset, a different way of thinking, and to be flexible.

Lost and Damage Fund

At the COP28 opening, all parties showed solidarity by agreeing to operationalise the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements.

At a Pacific Leaders meeting that was recently held in early November, Pacific Leaders, including Tonga's PM Hon. Hu'akavameiliku, ackowledged that a lack of funding remains a major setback for the Pacific Island countries in dealing with the issues of climate change, especially as being the region affected the most climate crisis, but contributing the least to the causes.

Now several countries have pledged money to the fund totalling some $300 million. “Today's news on loss and damage gives this conference a running start,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell. 

“Governments must use this momentum to deliver a truly ambitious outcome in Dubai.”

Data delivered at the COP28, shows 2023 has shattered climate records, accompanied by extreme weather which has left a trail of devastation and despair, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Released at COP28 this afternoon, the WMO provisional State of the Global Climate report confirms that 2023 is set to be the warmest year on record. Data until the end of October shows that the year was about 1.40 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels.