Pacific voices, sounds, chants and dances rung out loud and jubilant on Thursday night during the official opening of the COP28 Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion.
Located at Building 29 at the Dubai Expo Centre, the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion is funded by the Governments of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia and managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). This support by the two countries for a Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion to be managed by SPREP is further confirmed for COP29 and COP30.
The official opening was well attended by Pacific leaders and delegates who have travelled from wide and far to be in Dubai to continue to amplify the One Pacific Voice on climate change.
“A house is not a home, it’s the people who make it a home and here at the Pacific Pavilion, it is your presence as the One Pacific Voice that makes this very special, our home here on this desert,” the Director General of SPREP, Mr Sefanaia Nawadra said during the opening. “This is an oasis, where we come and refresh, express our concerns, invite visitors to talanoa and hopefully they will take the messages we have for the world and this COP28 and continue to amplify our Pacific voices.”
The Pavilion will be a hub for more than 300 delegates from Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) attending COP28 from Thursday 30 November 2023 until Tuesday 12 December 2023. They are joining more than 70,000 participants, including Heads of State, government leaders and officials, industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors as they continue to chart a pathway for global efforts to address climate change.
New Zealand’s Ambassador of Climate Change, Ms Kay Harrison said the Moana Pavilion is a very important space where we can bring together different dimensions of humanity.
“We started tonight with the aspect of faith, and there are many faith communities at COP28, we’ve looked at traditional knowledge, when we talk about 1.5c it comes from the world of science, there are also politicians here as well. All these dimensions of our life have a place here and are given the opportunity to express themselves at the Moana Pacific Pavilion, it is very important we do that,” she said.
“This requires unprecedented collaboration and cooperation and that’s why a Pavilion like this is so critical. I want to thank SPREP for their hard work to organise this and to bring us together, and I also want to thank my colleagues from Australia for joining us on this journey.”
Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change, Ms Kristin Tilley said her country is honored to contribute and be part of the Moana Pacific Blue Pavilion.
“Each Pacific nation is unique, as the pictures around the Pavilion demonstrate,” she said. “The one thing that is clearly common across them all is the sense of welcome that you offer visitors, sense of pride in your country and the Pacific region and your commitment and purpose to solving the climate crisis and keeping 1.5c alive.
“And when you step into the Moana Pacific Pavilion, that’s the immediate sense you get. Well done SPREP for the work you have put in to make this happen. Australia is very proud and privileged to be part of this.”
SPREP’s Director of Climate Change Resilience, Ms Tagaloa Cooper, thanked everyone who attended the opening and offered a special acknowledgement to the Governments of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia for their support.
More than 80 side events will be held across the duration of the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion at COP28, providing the platform for Pacific Islands people to tell their Pacific stories. The Pavilion is also networking space which will allow you to mix and mingle with counterparts, “tok story” and talanoa, share experiences and build networks that will span oceans to help our Pacific Islands.
For further information please visit: www.sprep.org/moana-blue-pacific
The 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) in Dubai, UAE is taking place from Thursday 30 November 2023 – Tuesday 12 December 2023.
It is being attended by Pacific leaders and their delegations, who are advocating for the survival of Pacific communities who continue to be at the forefront of climate change impacts.
A key part of amplifying the One Pacific Voice at COP28 is the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, which is a Pacific partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Another key part of the Pacific’s work at COP28 is the Pacific Delegation Office, which is a partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand. Both the Moana Pacific Pavilion and the Pacific Delegation Office are managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
