All articles
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Cyclone Yasa and bushfires show the Pacific and Australia are both on the frontline of climate change
One year ago, I was glued to the television in my home in Fiji, watching with horror as Australia burned in last summer’s catastrophic bushfires. I’ll never forget the images of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge wreathed in smoke, or the bravery of the people in bushfire-threatened communities as they faced down the flames. Now…
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Greenpeace Australia Pacific Statement on Tropical Cyclone Yasa
The following comments can be attributed to Greenpeace Head of Pacific, Joseph Moeono-Kolio. “Cyclone Yasa has been turbocharged by the mining and burning of coal, oil and gas by countries like Australia. Climate change is intensifying extreme weather events that are devastating the Pacific and parts of Australia right now. “This is what Fijian Prime…
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Yasa’s climate-charged 345 km/h winds cut a path of destruction through Fiji’s two major islands
SYDNEY, Dec 18 2020 – Tropical Cyclone Yasa struck with wind gusts up to 345 km/h overnight as it tore through Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, destroying homes and schools and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents.Despite the high wind speeds, Yasa was downgraded to a strong Category 4 storm, the Fijian Government said…
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Australia doesn’t make the cut of the Climate Ambition B-league
SYDNEY, Sunday 13 December 2020 – Global climate ambition is not enough and the world is still not on track to meet the Paris Agreement climate targets, delegates at this weekend’s Climate Ambition Summit have been warned – and Australia wasn’t even invited. “Even the B-league doesn’t want Australia. Australia’s natural advantages in wind and solar…
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Australia must commit to net-zero by 2040 or risk catastrophic damage to the Pacific: Greenpeace report
SYDNEY, Dec 3 2020 – Australia’s inadequate climate policies could see the world heat by almost four degrees by 2100 but the worst can be avoided for parts of the Pacific if Australia and other major emitters adopt a net-zero emissions by 2040 target, according to a new report by Greenpeace.Under current policies, the world…
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Crisis stricken Vanuatu hit by climate-fuelled Tropical Cyclone Harold
SYDNEY, April 6, 2020 – As the world scrambles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Tropical Cyclone Harold has struck Vanuatu, with the devastation providing an unwelcome reminder that climate change remains the biggest threat facing the Pacific.Earlier today the cyclone made landfall on the island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu’s largest island, bringing torrential rain and…
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Pacific braces for the impacts of climate-fuelled disaster
As the world scrambles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Tropical Cyclone Harold struck Vanuatu overnight. The devastation of the category Five cyclone provides yet another unwelcome reminder that climate change remains the biggest threat facing the Pacific. Meteorological map of Cyclone Harold Earlier today the cyclone made landfall on Vanuatu’s largest island of Espiritu Santo,…
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My experience of being a young Pacific Islander at COP25
Today the voices of youth activists from around the world are among the strongest forces calling for urgent climate action and climate justice in the Pacific. Maryann Puia, a youth climate activist from the Solomon Islands, shares her experiences and learnings from COP25. The author (front right) at a Pacific youth forum at the COP25…
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Taylor calls on other countries to reduce emissions with no plan of his own at COP25
MADRID, Dec 10, 2019 – Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor has ignored Australians suffering from bushfires and Pacific Islanders facing the obliteration of their homelands by refusing to outline a plan for Australia to honour the Paris Agreement.Overnight Taylor delivered his keynote speech at the UN climate conference COP25 in Madrid, where…
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Pacific church leader tells Scott Morrison ‘each lump of coal is a nail in our coffins’
MADRID, Dec 9, 2019 – The General Secretary for the Pacific Conference of Churches has told Scott Morrison that the coal industry is killing the Pacific region. The General Secretary of the Pacific Council of Churches, Fijian clergyman and climate advocate Reverend James Bhagwan made the incendiary remarks on Day 8 of the COP25 climate conference…