Pacific Communities Building Resilience in the Face of Climate Change

SUVA, Fiji, Nov 8 2017 (IPS) - In the Pacific, climate change is an ever-present threat, undermining human rights, livelihoods, and security. Pacific Islanders are working with courage and resolve to build the resilience of their communities and to catalyse international actions towards ending global carbon pollution. While the Pacific has contributed almost nothing to the causes of climate change, the region is determined to lead the world towards a more just and sustainable future. And while often labelled as ‘small island states’, Pacific Island countries are more accurately characterised as ‘large oceans states’ as they are custodians of vast tracts of ocean, to which their economies, culture, identities and livelihoods are inextricably tied.