- COP26 President Alok Sharma makes his first visit to the South Pacific to meet islanders on the frontlines of climate change
- He will meet Pacific High-Level Champions and ministers to discuss the action needed from major emitters with adaptation, loss and damage and climate finance at the top of the agenda
- Mr Sharma will also visit a Fijian village to see for himself the impacts of climate change on the everyday lives of islanders
COP President Alok Sharma will visit Fiji from 26-27 July 2022 to see the impacts of climate change in the Pacific region. He will highlight the urgency for the biggest emitters to take action now and deliver the promise of the Glasgow Climate Pact signed by almost 200 countries at COP26.
His visit continues the work of the UK COP Presidency to press for updated climate commitments from all countries ahead of COP27 in Egypt, aligned with the crucial goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
Mr Sharma will meet ministers to discuss how to build on the main achievements of COP26, including adaptation, loss and damage and climate finance.
During his visit, Mr Sharma will also visit Buretu village in Tailevu, to witness the impact of climate change on the lives of Fijians. The village is suffering from severe weather events driven by climate change, including regular flooding which causes significant damage to property, crops and village land. Despite these impacts, the villagers have chosen to remain in place and fight to keep their homes.
In Suva, Mr Sharma will hold an open dialogue with the Pacific High-Level Champions for COP and hear from leaders of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific, discussing the region's priorities for COP27 and how the UK can help realise them. He will also deliver a keynote address at the Pacific Island Forum.
Ahead of his visit Mr Sharma said:
I am pleased to be visiting Fiji and working to champion the issues which matter most to Pacific partners.
Fiji and other island states are at the front line of climate change, having to adapt to the impacts of global warming which they have not been responsible for causing.
Urgent action is needed to limit global temperature increase to below 1.5 degrees and help build prosperous, low-carbon, resilient economies across the planet.
During my visit I look forward to meeting with government ministers to discuss how the UK and Fiji can cooperate on delivering ambitious climate action. I also look forward to engaging with youth groups and civil society to learn more about the issues that matter to them.
Notes
- The 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COP26 took place November 1-12, 2021, in Glasgow, UK.
- The UK holds the Presidency until COP27 in Egypt later this year and will aim to ensure promises on emission reductions are fulfilled to keep 1.5C alive; commitments on adaptation and loss and damage are honoured; commitments to get finance flowing are kept and that its inclusive Presidency continues.
- The UK has contributed £9.6m to the Commonsensing Project, building capacity in Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands to use remote satellite technology to address climate change issues, through policy making, projects and climate finance. In addition the UK has funded the Fiji Rural Electrification Fund (FREF), helping connect more Fijians to renewable energy through solar micro-grids. The UK has recently provided £400,000 funding to provide technical assistance to implement Fiji's Sovereign Blue Bond through UNDP.
