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AMPLIFYING THE PACIFIC

VOICE AT COP26

Building partnerships throughout the Pacific... The challenges for Pacific Island countries are enormous. ence Basis. If we limit warming to 1.5-degrees Celsius we can

As the countdown continues towards the Twenty-Sixth avoid up to 3 meters of sea level rise in the long-run, findings
Conference of the Parties to the UN’s Framework Convention that signal a bleak future for our Pacific islands people unless
on Climate Change (COP26), Ms Tagaloa Cooper, Director of urgent action is taken.
Climate Change Resilience of SPREP, knows just how difficult “While there have been many restrictions and challenges
things have been. around travelling to Glasgow, and returning home safely,
“There was always a real concern that our Pacific islands these negotiations are such that to have our say we have to
were not going to make it to the COP this year, and so we had be there,” said Ms Cooper.
ASSOCIATION OF to work extra hard to make sure our region was still seen and “Despite these challenges that COVID-19 has brought us,
PACIFIC PORTS heard, despite our physical absence,” she tells Islands Busi- restricting our movement, our Pacific islands are trying to get
ness.
there, to be heard.”
The Pacific islands represent 14 Parties to the UNFCCC Coordination is key for the Pacific with much work having
working with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environ- been done together to prepare and ready themselves for both
As drivers of economic growth, facilitating trade and generating thousands of jobs, ports of the ment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with other regional the climate change negotiations, and the spaces outside that
Pacific Ocean share a common vision: To provide an efficient, fluid, and cost-effective supply chain organisations of the Pacific forming the One CROP-Plus. in which Pacific voices can be heard.
in a safe, environmentally sustainable and economically viable manner. The Association of Pacific Ports “We need to be seen and heard in these global climate This year, the Pacific is calling upon the world to “Flex for
assists ports in achieving this vision by enabling the sharing of best practices and lessons learned, negotiations, our Pacific islands have too much at stake, and 1.5”, asking countries, governments, leaders and everyday
peer-to-peer networking, and professional development. we have not come this far, to just give up. Our Pacific story people what their actions are to bring about a 1.5 world to
We invite you to join us! is a unique one in this space given our region is home to many save everyone. These campaigns reach across the high-level,
islands that have remained COVID-19 free over the past year. social media audiences, a Moana Blue Pacific Office and side
For many of us, our journey ahead to COP26 will be one into events as well as utilising the voices of Pacific artists. They
PUBLISHERS OF new territory and COVID-19 restrictions and practices,” Ms run parallel to the work of Pacific negotiators within the
PACIFIC P RTS become the steerer of our Pacific canoe, taking us into new CROP-Plus, the group of Pacific regional organisations that are
negotiation rooms.
Cooper says.
Overall coordination support is being provided by the One
“Added to that is just how much climate change has
areas as we navigate through daily life in the islands.” working collectively together applying support and resources
The Pacific islands are amongst the most vulnerable to the for Pacific islands delegations.
effects of climate change, unfairly so given they contribute to Led by SPREP, the One CROP-Plus is a culmination of the
less than 0.06% of the world’s total greenhouse gasses. Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Pacific Community, the
In 2015, over 190 countries united under the Paris Agree- Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, the University of the
ment, a legally binding international treaty on climate South Pacific, UN Environment Programme, UN Development
change; one that promised to limit global warming to well Programme and Pacific Islands Development Forum.
below 1, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre- The Pacific Islands negotiate together under the Alliance of
industrial levels. Small Islands States (AOSIS) bloc, 39 small island and low-lying
This year at COP26, scheduled for 31 October to 12 Novem- coastal developing states that are the voice for the vulner-
ber, these same parties are to complete the Paris Agreement able.
Rulebook which outlines the processes and tools to bring “The Pacific is stronger with AOSIS in these climate nego-
about full, fair and effective implementation of the Paris tiations, this solidarity is our strength,” said Ms Cooper.
Agreement. “We are all behind the call to Flex for 1pt5.”
“It’s crucial for our islands that the Rulebook is done right,
and that we all see an agreement on actions that will achieve The Moana Blue Pacific, Mana Moana Pacific Voices and the
Learn more about the benefits of membership! the promise of the Paris Agreement,” said Ms Cooper, “our Flex for 1pt5 digital initiatives are supported by the New
Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Negotiation’s
survival depends upon it.”
COP26, hosted by the United Kingdom was originally sched- support has been provided through the IMPACT Project, facili-
www.pacificports.org | app@pacificports.org | 604-893-8800 uled for 2019, however COVID-19 brought those plans along tated by Climate Analytics.
with so many others, to a halt. The COP is now being held in To be part of the Pacific islands voyage at COP26, download
November this year, still in Glasgow, Scotland. the Attendify App on your cellphone, search for the Moana
The urgent action needed for a 1.5-degree world is un- Blue Pacific, and join.
derpinned by findings in the Sixth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: The Physical Sci- This content is sponsored by SPREP.

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