Island nations join in climate fight

SUVA, Fiji - About 300 leaders and experts from Pacific island countries gathered in Suva on Monday to discuss enhancing cooperation in the fight against climate change.

The event, organized by Climate Action Pacific Partnership, was aiming at promoting the exchange of ideas, innovations and solutions, Fiji Broadcasting Corp said on its website.

The agenda featured interactive sessions with contributions from Pacific leaders, civil society and the private sector.

Inia Seruiratu, Fiji's climate champion minister, said the meeting was key to establishing credible and sustainable greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

The government of Fiji will be the president of the 23rd Climate Change Conference to be held in Bonn, Germany.

Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has given high priority to the conference, aiming to continue the momentum for action since the Paris climate accord was signed in 2016.

The region is highly vulnerable to climate change. The London School of Economics estimated that across the Pacific islands, home to 10 million people, up to 1.7 million could be displaced due to climate change by 2050.

Fiji, like other Pacific island states, faces challenges in fully implementing government policies due to limited technical, human resource and financial capacities.

Home to more than 870,000 people in the central South Pacific Ocean, Fiji's 300 volcanic islands include low-lying atolls that are highly susceptible to cyclones and floods.

The country is no stranger to the devastation wrought by climate change. Sea flooding is usually associated with the passage of tropical cyclones close to the coast. Heavy swells, generated by deep depressions and/or intense high pressure systems some distance away from Fiji, have also caused flooding to low-lying coastal areas.

According to a World Bank report, climate threats to Fiji's society and economy include higher rates of disease as average temperatures rise. There are increasingly destructive storms as oceans get warmer and weather patterns become more severe, causing disruptions to agriculture.

On Fiji's main island of Viti Levu, these factors are expected to cause economic damage of up to $25 million per year, or roughly 4 percent of Fiji's gross domestic product.

Xinhua