“We woke up to the fact that there’s ocean change just like climate change. We need ocean action like there’s climate action.” These words rang out at international climate talks last week, spoken by Peter Thompson, the UN’s special envoy for the ocean. This is just one sign that ensuring healthy oceans is fast becoming recognised as indivisible from tackling climate change.
Climate change doesn’t discriminate and it knows no borders. Carbon emissions in Europe are causing sea levels to rise and submerging low-lying islands thousands of kilometres away. That’s why Pacific Island Represent has taken a detour from Bonn in Germany, to Oslo in Norway, to bear witness at the historic The People vs Arctic Oil trial.
People v. Arctic Oil , our court case agains the Norwegian Government, is happening right now! Although the court case is focusing on oil drilling in the Arctic, it’s so important to realise that this legal battle will make waves all around the world. Why? Because when it comes to climate change ‘what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic, it affects us all.’ Here are some of the most beautiful locations that are at risk;
Women are on the front-lines of climate change, from rising seas to extreme weather. We’re also leading the charge at global climate talks and rallying people power to protect our planet.
This morning, before the sun came up, while much of Bonn was sleeping, the Pacific Island Represent team laced up our winter shoes and headed out into the dark. We had never done anything like this before. And what we were about to see was also a first.
Across the Internet or in your favourite bookstore you’ll find many stories of great leadership. They focus on the character of great leaders and the decisions they made, the courage they displayed, the integrity they possessed.
Combatting climate change is a huge problem that demands a concerted global effort. Landmark deals like the Paris Agreement are touted as the way forward but they’re not worth the paper they’re written on if the nations signed up don’t obey them.
The election of Donald Trump to the U.S. Presidency in November 2016 threw a lot of people into a tailspin, and the actions out of the White House since he took office in January have been cause for concern on a number of fronts.