From rising sea temperatures, to deadly and devastating storms and floods, climate change is increasing threats in the southwest Pacific, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a report published on Wednesday. The State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2020
Human-caused bird extinctions are driving losses of functional diversity on islands worldwide, and the gaps they leave behind are not being filled by introduced (alien) species, finds a new study led by UCL and University of Gothenburg researchers.
Greta Thunberg has already pronounced the COP26 climate conference a failure. In important respects, the Swedish activist is correct. The commitments made at the conference are insufficient to hold global heating to 1.5℃ this century.
The world is on track for disastrous levels of global heating far in excess of the limits in the Paris climate agreement, despite a flurry of carbon-cutting pledges from governments at the UN Cop26 summit.
Pacific Island biodiversity has a notorious record of decline and extinction which continues due to habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, overexploitation, pollution, disease and human-forced climate change. In terrestrial systems, these global and local pressures are more acute because of relatively small land to sea area, high endemism and poor adaptations to resist predation.
The rest of the world must play its part in slowing climate change and helping island states to adapt to its impacts says Inger Andersen Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The Pew Charitable Trusts today applauded several nations for including ambitious targets to protect and restore coastal wetlands in their updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Parties to the Paris Agreement are increasingly recognizing the role that coastal "blue carbon" habit
Simon Kofe, Tuvalu’s foreign minister, has filmed a speech to climate summit COP26 knee-deep in the ocean. Kofe aims to highlight the effect of rising sea levels on the small island state in the South Pacific.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has pledged $2 billion in funding to help restore nature and transform food systems.
Fiji will be highlighting the nexus between oceans and climate change at COP26, and its impact on vulnerable coastal communities.