Climate change 'threatens' Pacific isles

The Age 27 Jul 09;

New Zealand and Australia need to take urgent action against climate change to stop neighbouring Pacific Islands becoming uninhabitable, Oxfam says.

Millions of people from developing Pacific nations faced increased risk from cyclones, storm surges, king tides and ecosystem destruction due to climate change, the development agency said in a report released on Monday.

"Without a significant effort by developed countries now, some island nations in the Pacific face the very real threat of becoming uninhabitable in the decades ahead," the report's writers said.

People living in poorer Pacific nations already faced higher rates of malarial infection, more frequent flooding and were losing land and being forced from their homes, Oxfam said.

"It makes financial sense to act now, given that for every dollar spent on disaster preparedness and risk reduction, two to ten dollars is saved in disaster response."

The report called for New Zealand and Australia to reduce carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2020 and by 95 per cent by 2050.

On Sunday, New Zealand's Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said a 40 per cent cut by 2020, compared to 1990, was neither achievable nor affordable and would have too great an economic impact.

However, the Oxfam report recommended urgent action to avoid being forced into making more drastic choices in coming decades.

"It is in Australia and New Zealand's best interests to take this action now.

"The more frequent disasters caused by climate change will require Australia and New Zealand to respond, and the displacement of people in the Pacific due to rising sea levels will force them to look for new homelands," the report's writers said.

By 2050, eight million people in the Pacific Islands may need to find new places to live, along with 75 million people in the Asia Pacific region, it said.

Oxfam advised the governments of developed nations to begin considering how to deal with the looming issue.

The development agency supported a "polluter pays" scheme where New Zealand should pay $NZ792 million ($A637.3 million) and Australia $A43 billion to help repair the environmental costs of developing their economies.

Oxfam called for more resources to be directed toward tapping into local knowledge, as well as a renewed focus on sustainable livelihoods, food sources and water supplies.

Oxfam also warned of increasing coral bleaching, where climatic change kills the organisms making up the coral, causing the surrounding ecosystem to collapse.

Also, Pacific reefs faced a "significantly reduced ability" to provide food - for both local people and fishermen coming for tuna and other high-value fish.

The report writers also called attention to research probing the link between climate change and health, specifically mentioning the spread of malaria and dengue fever.

In Papua New Guinea's Western Highlands, researchers had recorded a large jump in the number of reported cases of malaria, from 638 in 2000 to 4,986 in 2005.

"For countries like Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tokelau, the Marshall Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia, climate change is not something that could happen in the future but something they are experiencing now," Oxfam said.

Pacific needs help to combat climate change: Oxfam
Yahoo News 27 Jul 09;

WELLINGTON (AFP) – Developed countries need to act urgently to help vulnerable Pacific island nations cope with climate change, international aid group Oxfam said Monday.

By the year 2050, about 75 million people could be forced to leave their homes due to climate change in the Asia-Pacific region, the Oxfam report said.

"Climate change has the potential to affect almost every issue linked to poverty and development in the Pacific," said Oxfam New Zealand executive director Barry Coates.

"Without immediate action 50 years of development gains in poor countries will be permanently lost," he said.

Coral atolls are particularly vulnerable, including countries such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, which consist solely of atolls that often rise only two to three metres (six to nine feet) above sea level.

Climate change is expected to worsen storm surges, cyclones and high tides.

"Scientists have also projected an increase in diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, together with significant soil and coastal erosion as a result of climate change," Oxfam said.

Unless wealthy, developed countries like Australia and New Zealand take urgent action to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, some island nations in the Pacific could become uninhabitable, Oxfam said.

Oxfam estimated that around 150 billion US dollars would be needed every year to fund adaptation and emissions reductions in developing countries on top of existing aid.

Wealthy, polluting countries must reduce their emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020, and at least 95 percent by 2050 to prevent potentially catastrophic climate change, Oxfam said.

The report also said Australia and New Zealand had to be prepared to take refugees from Pacific islands.

Australia, New Zealand and other developed countries are expected to face renewed calls for more help over climate change from island countries when the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum meets in Cairns, Australia next week.