Page 13 - Islands Business October 2023 edition

Never forget, 1.5 to Stay Alive

Our rally call on our journey to COP28

By Tagaloa Cooper, Director of Climate Change Resilience,
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

It rests upon our shoulders to for at least one year. This does not Despite having smaller
breathe life into our commitment mean the world will go beyond the delegations and limited resources
to limit the global temperature 1.5°C threshold referenced in the to effectively cover all Pacific
increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Paris Agreement which is long-term priority thematic areas at the
We must not let the 1.5 rallying call warming over many years. COP—our Leaders, our delegates,
be muted, as the moment we let it our negotiators carry the weight of
However, the fact that there is
fade, it is an indication to the world our Pacific Islands people at the
such a chance that we will reach
that we have given up. We still have negotiations, we are fortunate to
this temperature limit so soon, even
time, and it can still be done. have some strong partnerships.
if temporarily, is an indication that
Every word negotiated matters as it
In 2016, the Paris Agreement we as a global community must do
reflects the survival and aspirations
entered into force. Its overarching more, faster. We still have time to
of our people. And so, the work
goal is to hold “the increase in the make a difference.
must continue, for if we are not at
global average temperature to well
This year in the UAE, host of the the table, we are not heard, and the
below 2°C above pre-industrial
28th Conference of the Parties to Pacific are determined to be heard.
levels” and pursue efforts “to limit
the UN Framework Convention
the temperature increase to 1.5°C We must all do what we can to
on Climate Change, our Pacific
above pre-industrial levels.” amplify our call for a 1.5°C world and
Islands will continue the fight for
act upon it to achieve the promise of
Science tells us that if we go our survival by addressing the
the Paris Agreement.
beyond this 1.5 threshold, it will key thematic areas within the
mean far more severe climate negotiations. All of which impact Ms Tagaloa Cooper is the Director
change impacts. For those of us us directly. Underpinning all these of Climate Change Resilience of the
in the Pacific Islands that barely issues is our need to limit global Secretariat of the Pacific Regional
bounce back after one extreme warming to 1.5°C – it is the basis of Environment Programme (SPREP)
weather event before the next one the Paris Agreement and is crucial leading the One CROP mechanism
hits, this will wreck us. to our survival. which is a collective of Pacific
regional organisations that work
Despite this, and the global The myriad of disasters that have together to support Pacific Island
commitment to the Paris Agreement, been attributed to climate change Parties at the UNFCCC COP’s.
humanity has been careless in its felt by many across the world has SPREP is the lead coordinating
disregard for the scientific warnings. become all too common. Without agency of One CROP that includes
urgent global action on climate
The Global Annual to Decadal Forum Fisheries Agency, Pacific
change, this will become accepted
Climate Update issued by the World Islands Forum Secretariat, the
as the norm. While our Pacific
Meteorological Organization in May Pacific Community, and the
Islands are amongst the most
this year stated a 66% likelihood University of the South Pacific.
vulnerable to the impacts of climate
that the annual average near-
change, the rest of the world is not
surface global temperature between
immune. While we have not caused
2023 and 2027 will be more than
this problem, we are at the forefront
1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
of feeling the impacts.
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