US support on Pacific climate issues sought

NEW YORK – Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs has conveyed Pacific regional climate change concerns to the United States government and sought support from it.

However Rimbink Pato was told by the US Assistant Secretary of State, Danny Russell, that while his administration wants to do more, it struggles to gain bipartisan support in Washington.

The two met in New York late last week at a meeting between Russell and Pacific Islands Forum leaders.

Pato said he pressed for US backing at December’s COP21 Conference in Paris on climate issues of vital significance to communities in the Pacific.

He said the US is aware of the threat brought about by climate change in the Pacific.

Russell reportedly expressed concern at the devastation from tropical storms in Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and the need for concerted efforts at all levels to assist small island countries in mitigation and resilience.

Yet Pato said that while the US wishes to do more, political dynamics in Washington do not always help.

Pato also said Russell and US officials received a briefing on the Pacific Regionalism framework endorsed by the recent Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting in Port Moresby.

He said areas such as fisheries, climate change, cervical cancer and West Papua that are covered in the Pacific Regionalism Framework, truly capture the concerns and aspirations of the people of the Pacific.

Assistant Secretary Russell reportedly made the point that the United States is a Pacific State and hence appreciates the need for solidarity with the PIF countries in advancing issues of common concern.

Meanwhile, Pacific leaders urged the US to ratify the Treaty of Rarotonga which formalises a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the South Pacific, as well as find solutions for Marshall Islands victims of US nuclear testing in the region.

While in New York to attend the UN General Assembly meeting, Pato will also chair a meeting between the Pacific Island Forum leaders with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.