It’s live!
Auimatagi Joe Moeono-Kolio at Greenpeace
Te Mana o te Moana: the State of the Climate in the Pacific 2020 is Greenpeace’s landmark report exploring how climate change has impacted Pacific Island Countries; who is responsible; and what is needed to ensure that the people of the Pacific emerge stronger from the climate crisis.
Earlier this week, 15 Pacific leaders published an editorial in the SMH, calling on Scott Morrison to honour the international climate commitments Australia has made and the commitments it has made to its Pacific neighbours. With the launch of this report, we add our voice to this growing chorus.
At every level – from villages, to faith communities, to civil society and to Government, the Pacific has continued to be the moral voice shepherding the world through not only our current experience, but through the force of our example.
As you will see in the report, the Pacific Islands contribute less than 1% of global emissions and yet, we are first to go 100% renewable, first to ratify the Paris Agreement and among other strides forward, have already started submitting updated Nationally Determined Contributions.
Even so, the Pacific cannot save the planet on its own especially when one of our own – Australia – refuses to do its part.
The fact is, climate change is no longer a distant threat for us in the Pacific. We do not speak of it in future tense because it is our daily, lived reality now. And as we saw with the recent fires – it’s now a part of daily Australian reality too. This doesn’t have to be the norm if we take heed of these report findings and take action, and that begins when Australian leaders show the same moral fortitude and political will as the rest of the Pacific.
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At this important moment I would like to extend my sincere and heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the Pacific communities who lent their voices to this project. We honour your stories and the resilience you have shown throughout this process.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific would also like to thank the peer reviewers who generously volunteered their time to this report, and the political leaders who reinforced that if we save the Pacific, we save the world.
With hope and solidarity,
Auimatagi Joe Moeono-Kolio
Head of Pacific
Greenpeace Australia Pacific