“We are living under increasing rainstorms which jeopardize our future economies. Our climate is changing for the worst, from fisheries to water to food security or our day-to-day livelihoods.”
These were the sentiments shared by Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, Samoa Minister of Natural Resources & Environment at the Moana Pacific Pavilion at COP27.
“We need to pursue our efforts on the agenda to limit global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius, for our planet and future generation,” Schuster said.
The Regional Pacific NDC Hub hosted its side event at the Moana Pacific Pavilion at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt “Low Emissions from High-Risk Communities: Tales to tell from the Pacific NDC Hub” at the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion on 9 November 2022.
Members of the Regional Pacific NDC Hub Steering Committee and Focal Points presented on the work and implantation of the NDC Hub activities under Phase 1 & 2.
"The importance of the work of the Regional Pacific NDC Hub in leveraging the necessary finance to realize these priorities cannot be emphasized enough. I applaud the Hub in its work and its principles in this mostly overlooked space,” Schuster said.
Despite the Pacific Region’s negligible greenhouse gas emissions, the Pacific tales presented during the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion NDC Hub side event, demonstrated the commitment of the Pacific Small Island Development States (PSIDS) in heeding the call to urgently ratchet ambition to close the emission gap during this critical decade in order to stay below 1.5 degrees celsius.
Members of the panel who shared about the work of the NDC Hub in their countries included Ravneeth Dewan, Biennial Update Report National Coordinator, Climate Change and International Cooperation Division, Ministry of Economy from Fiji, Nelson Kalo, Senior Climate Change Officer, Department of Climate Change, Ministry of Climate Change & Natural Disasters from Vanuatu, Henry Tufah, Chief Climate Change Policies and Programs, Climate Change Division, Ministry of Environment Climate Change Disaster Management and Meteorology from the Solomon Islands and Toiata Uili, Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Renewable Energy Division), Ministry of Natural Resources from Samoa.
The closing remarks were shared by Dr. Bernd-Markus Liss, Department Sector and Global Programme (GloBe), Division Climate Change, Environment, Infrastructure, Head of Section Climate Change and Climate Policy, GIZ Focal Point for UNFCCC and NDC Partnership.
About the Regional Pacific NDC Hub
The Regional Pacific NDC Hub carries out activities based on specific country requests from member Pacific Islands and these activities are implemented by the four partners of the Hub. These are the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (lead partner), Pacific Community (SPC), the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
Background
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are national climate change mitigation plans which highlight country’s climate actions through climate related targets, policies and projects. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, countries are required to prepare, communicate and maintain successive NDCs in contribution to global climate action.
The Regional Pacific Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Hub arose as a response to calls from Pacific Island Countries (PICs) for a regional platform to support them in implementing, enhancing and financing their NDCs. The NDC Hub was officially launched by the Prime Minister of Fiji and COP23 President Hon. Voreqe Bainimarama in 2017 in Bonn, Germany. The Pacific NDC Hub works with its 14 member countries and these are: The Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The Regional Pacific NDC Hub is administered by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and implemented through the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in contribution to NDC Partnership.
