TONGAN PM CALLS FOR UNITED APPROACH AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
BY NIGEL MADO
Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua has called on Pacific nations to strengthen collective action against climate change and ocean degradation, warning that the environmental threats facing the region transcend national borders.
Speaking at the opening of the Melanesian Ocean Summit in Port Moresby, the Tongan Prime Minister said Pacific nations must move together in responding to rising sea levels, coral bleaching and increasingly severe tropical cyclones affecting the region.
Fakafanua said the Pacific was confronting an unprecedented period for both its people and oceans, with decisions made at the summit likely to shape regional ocean governance and environmental protection efforts for decades.
He stressed that climate impacts were being felt across the entire Pacific regardless of geography, noting that cyclones originating in one part of the region frequently move across several island states. He also pointed to rising sea levels in the Pacific, which he said were occurring at rates higher than the global average.
The Tongan leader revealed that Tonga was currently monitoring coral bleaching caused by sustained above-average ocean temperatures, describing the impacts of climate change as real and already visible throughout the region.
Fakafanua said the challenges facing Pacific island nations required a collective and coordinated regional response, adding that no country could address the crisis alone.
The summit brought together Pacific leaders, development partners, conservation groups and climate organisations to discuss regional cooperation on marine conservation and sustainable ocean governance.
Fakafanua urged leaders attending the conference to strengthen partnerships and align their efforts to protect the “Blue Pacific” for future generations.
He said Pacific nations carried a shared responsibility as custodians of the world’s largest ocean continent and warned that failure to act decisively could place future generations at risk.
The Tongan Prime Minister also challenged leaders to move beyond discussions and commitments toward concrete implementation of policies and regional strategies that would strengthen climate resilience and protect marine ecosystems.
