Climate Change Resilience
A two day gathering to help strengthen the capacity of Pacific Ministers to engage meaningfully at the climate change negotiations opened today in Apia, Samoa.
The event is coordinated for the Small Island Developing States of the Least Developed Countries by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with Climate Analytics, Charles and Associates and the Caribbean Climate Change Centre.
It is to help prepare Pacific Ministers for the 19th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Warsaw, Poland from 11 to 22 November.
"Ministers are often asked to attend negotiations with very little briefing or understanding of the salient points, I believe it is equally important to prepare Pacific Ministers so they can participate in the intense climate change negotiations," said Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa.
"Ministers are often asked to attend negotiations with very little briefing or understanding of the salient points, I believe it is equally important to prepare Pacific Ministers so they can participate in the intense climate change negotiations," said Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa."I am particularly thankful for the inclusion in the agenda of climate change science and the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. We must be aware and information of various aspects of climate change to underpin our negotiations."
The Pacific region have actively participated in negotiations over the years holding key positions in the different negotiating groups, the current chair of the Alliance of Small Island States is Nauru.
Former Lead Negotiator, Mr. Leon Charles, from Grenada the previous chair of AOSIS stressed the role of SIDS at the negotiations - "you can only be effective if you are prepared to contribute, if you make the effort you can make a difference and for that you need effective political engagement."
Topics discussed during the two day meeting include the climate science results from the 5th Assessment Report of the IPCC and progress towards the development of a new Climate Change treaty. Presentations are being provided by SPREP, Mr. Leon Charles and Professor Bill Hare of Climate Analytics.
The training is hosted in Apia, Samoa on 16 and 17 October. This is one of several training sessions for Pacific senior officials and Government Ministers over this week. This project is part of the International Climate Initiative (ICI).The German Federal Ministry for the Environment,Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports thisinitiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.