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Pacific Isles On 'Unofficial' G-8 Agenda

Sunday: July 06, 2008

(Asahi Evening News))

Climate change and its impact on Pacific Islands will be an unofficial theme at the G-8 Summit, which gets underway in Japan next week, the Asahi Evening News reports.

This follows the announcement of a Japanese environmental aid package for Tuvalu, and presentations in the Tokyo area by that country's deputy prime minister about rising sea levels.

Last month, the newspaper reported, Japan unveiled its first program to help Pacific Islands cope with the impact of global warming under the Cool Earth Partnership, a wide-ranged program for helping developing countries deal with climate change. "We wanted to get this out before the (G-8)summit," said an Environment Ministry official, referring to the assistance package. The Cool Earth Initiative calls for halving emissions by 2050.

As part of the lead up to the G-8 summit, Tuavlu's deputy prime minister, Tavau Teii was in Japan to discuss the impact of rising sea levels on his atoll nation. “Tuvalu stands as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. There is no time to waste," he said at a public presentation last month. 

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200807040496.html