Faced with the increase in intense climatic phenomena and coastal erosion, New Caledonia expressed in a press release issued on Wednesday, September 11, its desire to declare a climate and environmental emergency in the archipelago.
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The government of New Caledonia expressed on Wednesday, September 11, its intention to declare a climate and environmental emergency in the French archipelago in the South Pacific, which is subject to coastal erosion and an increase in intense weather events.
” Pacific Islands on the Front Lines of Global Warming ” And ” THE Vanuatu and the New Zealand have already declared a climate emergency “, the local government said in a statement, citing the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The declaration of climate emergency must be accompanied by an adaptation strategy based on a forum bringing together experts and members of civil society, which will transmit its recommendations to a ” Caledonian Climate Change Committee. “The latter will be responsible for managing a “resilience fund” which will collect external funding from large foundations to support actions to combat climate change, the press release continues.
Consequences of climate change already visible
These measures, adopted on Wednesday by the Caledonian government, must soon be submitted for approval to the elected representatives of the congress, the deliberative assembly of this territory of 270,000 inhabitants.
In New Caledonia, the consequences of climate change are already visible. The island of Ouvéa, but also the east coast of Grande Terre, are suffering from erosion caused by rising sea levels. Homes, infrastructure and agricultural land are threatened with disappearance.
The archipelago is also seeing an increase in the number of intense phenomena (heavy rains or major droughts). Finally, rising sea temperatures are affecting coral reefs, which are affected by bleaching episodes.
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