Caption: European Union Commissioner for Climate Action Mrs Connie Hedegaard at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
By ASHTOSH SINGH
At the occasion of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), European Union Commissioner for Climate Action Mrs Connie Hedegaard and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Director General Dr. Jimmie Rodgers and have signed the “ACP-EU Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific” programme.
The European Union (EU) will provide 20 million Euro to support the Pacific states in addressing the impacts of climate change and the urgent need to improve resilience to natural disasters.
The high vulnerability of Pacific Island Countries to disaster is well known. This is further exacerbated by their often small land areas as well as their narrow, subsistence based fragile economies.
“For the Pacific people, climate change is not about a distant future. It has become the new normal. This programme will help the Pacific states in their efforts to adapt to this new climate reality.
The Pacific states can count on Europe to continue its climate cooperation in the region”, said European Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard. This ground-breaking programme will bring a new impetus to the region in terms of the much- needed synergies between disaster risk reduction and climate change.
The programme will also improve the collection and use of science-based information for better awareness and understanding of natural hazard, education and training.