Media coverage

Key Tuvalun stakeholders met in Funafuti for the BOLD Response Project Inception meeting. For Pacific communities, the consequences of climate change go far beyond the economic damages. Non-economic losses and damages can be some of the most devastating.

Pacific adaptation and loss and damage analyst Gabriel Mara told Die Zeit "if sea-level rise is faster than currently assumed, then losses will also occur faster than our planning and forecasting models predict," says Mara. The consequences of climate change could therefore be more severe for many countries in the Global South than they have anticipated – and than they have been able to prepare for.

The work to understand the economic and non-economic losses and damages caused by climate change in Tuvalu takes another step forward this week in Funafuti, with stakeholders gathering for the Building Our Pacific Loss and Damage (BOLD) Response Project.

For Pacific communities, the consequences of climate change go far beyond the economic damages. Non-economic losses and damages can be some of the most devastating, such as losing a burial site to erosion or being forced to abandon traditional fishing practices due to marine ecosystem changes.

The injustice Pacific countries like Vanuatu continue to face as a result of a changing climate they are not responsible for, is the driving force behind their local and global climate action. In February, we held workshops in Port Vila, Vanuatu to discuss how the BOLD project can help address climate change-induced loss and damage.

Samoa is taking steps to build resilience in a new era where Pacific communities at the forefront of climate change impacts can define, address and seek support for climate-induced loss and damage, through the BOLD Project.

"The timelines for these disasters are getting shorter," Jattansingh said. "You have a cycle of rebuilding, reconstruction, long-term recovery and so on — all for another event to happen."

Rueanna Haynes went on the Morning Edition of CNC TV6 to discuss COP29. She told them "the global discussion this year in climate change is focused on 'how do we finance the just transition'. Where are countries going to get the resources from to do what is needed in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement." (interview starts 1 hr:31min)

“In the short term, millions of people will be affected by increased food prices and damage to critical infrastructure and livelihoods,” Manjeet Dhakal, director of the Climate Analytics South Asia in Kathmandu, told the South China Morning Post. “In the long term, Nepal’s economic growth is likely to slow as resources are diverted from core budget allocations.”

The Philippines is one of the most at-risk countries to extreme natural events and negative climate change impacts, writes Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Filipino Ambassador to the United States. He quotes from a recent Climate Analytics study that "even at the time that the Paris Agreement was signed, climate change was already reducing the average income of Filipino households”.