Pacific gets a new centre of excellence for climate change issues

The Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) is being built by Japan, at the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community Environment Programme (SPREP),and will be a regional hub and centre of excellence for climate change issues.

“The Climate Change Centre will contribute to efforts to address the needs of Pacific Island Countries to combat the impacts of climate change over the coming decades,” said New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters in a press release.

SPREP is an implementing partner in our flagship project IMPACT, which aims to strengthen the connections between the scientific assessments of climate impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to help enable access to finance and help Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) implement concrete projects.

Climate Analytics’ Samoa-based expert Paddy Pringle is supporting SPREP in the preparation of the PCCC Strategy and Business Plan, to ensure it reflects the region’s needs, delivers a set of complementary functions and responds to comments from development partners and bilateral funders such as the Government of New Zealand.

“With a strong focus on supporting applied research, capacity building and improving the flow of science to decision-makers the PCCC is very much in line with IMPACT objectives. The last six months has seen great progress in clarifying the functions of the PCCC and how it can best support climate action in the region. The commitment by New Zealand is a very welcome boost for the Pacific, a region that is home to some of the most vulnerable populations to the impacts of climate change,” he said.