Connect with us

Published

on

The leaders and climate ministers of governments around the world will be invited to meetings on the Pacific islands of Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu in the months leading up to the COP31 climate summit in November.

Under a deal struck between Pacific nations, Fiji will host the official annual pre-COP meeting, at which climate ministers and negotiators discuss contentious issues with the COP Presidency to help make the climate summit smoother.

This pre-COP, expected to be held in early October, will include a “special leaders’ component” hosted in neighbouring Tuvalu – 2.5-hour flight north – according to a statement issued by the Australian COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen on LinkedIn on Thursday.

Bowen said this “will bring a global focus to the most pressing challenges facing our region and support investment in solutions which are fit for purpose for our region.” Australia will provide operational and logistical support for the event, he said.

    Like many Pacific island nations, Tuvalu, which is home to around 10,000 people, is threatened by rising sea levels, as salt water and waves damage homes, water supplies, farms and infrastructure.

    Dozens of heads of state and government usually attend COP summits, but only a handful take part in pre-COP meetings. COP31 will be held in the Turkish city of Antalya in November, after an unusual compromise deal struck between Australia and Türkiye.

    In addition, Pacific country Palau will host a climate event as part of the annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) – which convenes 18 Pacific nations – in August.

    Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that this meeting would be a “launching board” to build momentum for COP31 and would draw new commitments from other countries to help Pacific nations cut emissions and adapt to climate change.

    “At the PIF our priorities are going to be 100 per cent renewables, the ocean-climate nexus and … accelerating investments that build resilience from climate change,” he told ABC.

    The post World leaders invited to see Pacific climate destruction before COP31 appeared first on Climate Home News.

    World leaders invited to see Pacific climate destruction before COP31

    Continue Reading

    Climate Change

    The Climate Change Culprits Not Addressed by Global Policy

    Published

    on

    A new paper suggests that 15 percent of global warming comes from overlooked pollutants.

    Record-high global temperatures aren’t driven only by well-known greenhouse gas culprits.

    The Climate Change Culprits Not Addressed by Global Policy

    Continue Reading

    Climate Change

    Trump’s EPA Unlawfully Cancelled Environmental Justice Grants, Judge Rules

    Published

    on

    The decision voided the EPA guidance to terminate the $2.8 billion grant program. But it stopped short of requiring the agency to resume administering it.

    A federal judge in South Carolina ruled this week that the Trump administration’s termination of environmental justice grants was “illegal.” The decision dealt a setback to efforts to dismantle a Biden-era program that funded projects addressing environmental and public health challenges in underserved communities across the country.

    Trump’s EPA Unlawfully Cancelled Environmental Justice Grants, Judge Rules

    Continue Reading

    Climate Change

    A Commercial Space Race Prompts a Thorny Question: Who Owns the Sky?

    Published

    on

    The surge in satellites brings pollution and risks of repeating destructive colonial practices, experts warn.

    The starry night sky has always anchored humanity’s sense of place in a vast universe. It’s a map guiding travelers, a calendar for migrations and harvests, a wellspring of stories. But a surge of commercial satellite launches into the upper fringes of Earth’s atmosphere threatens the relationship between people and the celestial commons by crowding the night sky and polluting the atmosphere, scientists warn.

    A Commercial Space Race Prompts a Thorny Question: Who Owns the Sky?

    Continue Reading

    Trending

    Copyright © 2022 BreakingClimateChange.com