Cook Islands News, 21st May 2018
Pacific Islands Forum Leaders and the prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe committed to stronger action on climate change and the sustainable management of fisheries resources at the Eight Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 8) in Iwaki-city, Fukishima, Japan on Saturday (CI time).
Forum leaders and prime minister Abe committed to strengthening efforts to address the effects of climate change, given the existential threat it poses to Forum Island Countries and the region.
They emphasised the need to step up leadership roles in international negotiations, to finalise the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement, and increase levels of climate finance commensurate with the needs of FICs.
In an intervention during the summit, Puna commended Japan’s support for the Pacific Climate Change Centre and noted the development of a Pacific Resilience Facility which would support greater access to resilience funding.
However, more needed to be done and Puna called on Japan and parties to the Paris Agreement to “support efforts and allocate resources to rapidly build resilience, particularly amongst countries most vulnerable, including those from our Pacific”.