Mary (from left), Jennifer and Komy of Ariligo village, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Both Mary and Jennifer lost children in the February flooding. Photo: Oxfam/Lara McKinley

Pacific.Scoop
By Candace Uttam

Environmental groups and local Pacific leaders are urging New Zealanders to take responsibility and join the fight to protect low-lying Pacific Island nations from the effects of climate change.

They say the enormity of the problem needs to be understood – the fact that climate change is no longer just an environmental issue, but a question of survival for thousands Pacific Islanders.

Green Party MP Metiria Turei says not only do people need to start taking personal responsibility, but as a Pacific nation New Zealand needs to commit to policy changes that address the situation.

“We like to identify ourselves with being a Pacific nation. Well if we’re going to be one, we take responsibility for the good and the bad,” she says.

“It’s very important that we accept that there is a scientific rationale behind the [climate] changes and therefore we can adapt our behaviors, our attitudes and our economy, in particular, to alter that science.”

Rev Mua Strickson-Pua, community work chaplain practitioner of Pasifika arts for therapy and healing at the Tagata Pasifika Resources Development Trust, says there needs to be greater awareness of the issue among Pacific Islanders in New Zealand, who must realise their moral obligation to the region’s people.

He says even though there are no simple solutions, they need to find practical ways to take concrete action and the best way to do this is by getting to know the issue.

‘Did nothing?’
“Do we really want [our people] to be “climate refugees”? Do we really want our cousins, our grandparents lost out there and think we said nothing, we did nothing?”

Both leaders are encouraging people to support various campaigns hosted by environmental groups, in a bid to persuade the government to set a higher emission reduction target before the United Nations climate summit at Copenhagen in December.

Greenpeace’s Sign On campaign is one such example, providing a platform for New Zealanders to show their support for Prime Minister John Key to commit to a 40 percent by 2020 emissions reduction target.

Gareth Hughes, spokesperson of the Sign On campaign, says because climate change is happening faster than expected, the Copenhagen conference is “potentially the most important meeting for humanity”.

“It’s not just about changing light bulbs any more, it’s about changing the laws and that starts with setting a strong target.”

He says the issue goes beyond resettling “climate refugees”, because it involves the extinction of a culture, the loss of a place where people have grown up and where their ancestors are buried.

Jason Garman, spokesperson for Oxfam, says while it is important to reduce greenhouse gases drastically, it is also imperative that the government gives greater assistance to nations such as Kiribati and Tuvalu that have already experienced the adversities of climate change.

“We have to acknowledge that rich, [developed] countries like New Zealand caused this problem, that means it is incumbent on us, it’s our responsibility to help them deal with the problem.

‘Double injustice’
“It’s a double injustice – not only did they not cause the problem but they’re the least equipped to deal with it,” he says.

Turei says Greenpeace, Oxfam, 350 Aotearoa and other environmental groups are working hard to initiate change and they need to be supported by the public.

“We are not powerless in this struggle. We have to take responsibility as a Pacific nation and as part of Nui a Kiwa – the Pacific Ocean, for what is happening in all of the islands, including our own, and make sure we work collectively for the benefit of us all.”

Candace Uttam is a final-year Bachelor of Communication Studies student journalist contributing to Pacific.Scoop.