Results for Pacific Islands

Five days of exhaustive talks at the annual meeting for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have yielded mixed results for Pacific Island states, in Bali this week. Among the major successes, members were able to agree on a target reference point for skipjack tuna - the Pacific’s most valuable stock. However, other important and fragile fish stocks like albacore tuna will have to wait another year for development of harvest strategies

Development remains at the centre of a PACER Plus negotiation that is currently on the way in Nadi, Fiji this week, 7-9 December between trade officials from Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and their counterparts from Australia and New Zealand.

The Cook Islands is challenging other Pacific nations to support the adoption of a meaningful harvest strategy for albacore tuna, following a commitment to reduce its own catches by up to 35 per cent within two years. By Helen Greig

Before it has even been agreed upon, the world is already failing the current proposal for the new Climate Change agreement to reduce global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. While the Pacific islands call for the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees, the reality is the combination of all national pledges now on the table takes it to over 3 degrees Celsius. - SPREP

Action Day at COP 21 in Paris, France has thrust the environmental leadership of the Pacific islands at the forefront of a Pacific Press Conference featuring the Heads of State from the Cook Islands, Palau and Tuvalu.

US President Barack Obama in Paris on Tuesday met with leaders of Pacific Island states and other vulnerable island states that are facing significant risk because of climate change, to talk about the need to conclude COP21 with an “ambitious agreement.” He said the voices of the leaders "right here today" were vital in making sure that the agreement that emerges serves the interests of the most vulnerable not just those of the most powerful.

As world leaders began to arrive in the French capital to finalise a global agreement on climate change, almost all the independent islands of the Pacific had submitted their new climate action plan – but not Tonga.

This weekend, representatives and heads of government from around the world arrive in Paris to prepare for the two weeks marathon negotiations that is expected to come up with a legally binding global climate agreement. The new agreement on 11 December could be the most important and significant achievement of any climate summits since Kyoto in 1997. By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor at COP21
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Ratu Epeli Nailatikau (74) has retired as Fiji’s President after six-years in office. His successor Jioji Konrote, of Rotuman descent, was sworn in today, 12 November at Government House in Suva.