1. I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Member States of the Pacific Islands Forum with presence here at the United Nations, namely; Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and my own country, Fiji in addition to Kiribati.

2. We thank Kenya and Norway for convening this aria-formula meeting with the support of Albania, France, Gabon, Ghana, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Mozambique, our fellow PIF members Nauru, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

3. It has been said that the frontlines of the climate crisis are now everywhere –  my response has been that the Blue Pacific Continent must then represent the frontline ‘on steroids’ – that is how strongly our Pacific communities are feeling the devastating effects of the climate crisis.
4. We therefore take some heart that so many other countries and regions have grasped the important and interconnected ways in which climate, security and peacebuilding interact.

5. I myself was able to discuss this dynamic with our Fijian Multinational Force and Observer troops stationed at the MFO South Base Camp in the Sinai Desert during our recent visit to COP27.  Given our experience as peacekeepers around the world and long experience of climate-related catastrophes and tensions in our region, the Pacific may boast some of the most experienced ‘climate security peacekeepers’ of anywhere on the planet

6. Our leaders have articulated an expanded concept of security through landmark documents including the Boe Declaration on Regional Security (2018), Fifty-First Pacific Islands Forum Communique (2021) and the Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-related Sea Level Rise (2021).  Our recently endorsed 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent also incorporates security dimensions into our climate strategy and development aspirations as Pacific peoples.

7. While we are encouraged by the growing recognition of the climate & security nexus among UN member states, we regret the use of the Security Council veto to block efforts to place climate firmly on the Security Council agenda where it belongs.

8. The UN peace and security architecture will gain substantially by integrating climate, peace and security considerations into conflict prevention, peacebuilding, mediation and peacekeeping efforts.  While non-climate factors are currently driving much of intra-state conflict, we know that climate change will expand and intensify many such conflicts while also creating entirely new conflicts through increased resource competition, internal and external displacement of people and communities and backsliding in development.

9. We do not need a crystal ball to see this dynamic unfolding – we have seen this climate security crisis in my own Pacific region as mentioned.  Many of the country situations already on the agenda of this Council are among the most vulnerable to climate security concerns and while conflict represents the sharp end of the impacts of climate change, we know that other security impacts, for instance on human health, the environment, and social resilience are already occurring. 

10. We welcome the recognition in the recent IPCC report AR6 Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability that climate change impacts and risks are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to manage. 

11. We are in agreement that prevention and ‘environmental peacebuilding’ are less costly and far less difficult than the most well-managed of post-crisis responses.  We believe that system-wide preventative tools supported by a rich understanding of the complex interaction of climate, security and peacebuilding should be undertaken under the guiding principle that each crisis presents not only a potential conflict but an opportunity for cooperation.

12. These tools should include climate-informed mediation which empowers and gives voice to all stakeholders in a potential crisis, climate resilience building with increased finance for adaptation and resilience measures and through partnering for inclusive peace, recognising the important input of traditional and local knowledge practitioners, women and girls, the disabled and other actors in society already doing the work on the ground.

Excellencies,

13. Our Blue Pacific region understands deeply the nexus between climate, security and peacebuilding and how important it is that we grasp this reality now.  To do so we must work together with all members within our societies and the global community to build a shared future – not of conflict – but of close cooperation and shared prosperity.

14. Finally, our Pacific region is grateful to both Ireland and Niger for their efforts to push this agenda forward during their time on the Security Council.

15. Vinaka vakalevu - I thank you.