Government Officials from around the Pacific region started a series of virtual policy discussions this week that will
examine how climate change and disasters will affect mobility trends in the Pacific Islands. The regional policy
dialogue is facilitated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), as part
of the joint-UN agency programme on Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security (PCCMHS) programme. The
programme is implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as the lead agency, ESCAP, International
Labour Organization (ILO), the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Platform on Disaster
Displacement (PDD) and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS)
Though Pacific countries are among the smallest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, the region is highly exposed
to its harshest impacts. Pacific communities are affected by a range of sudden-onset and slow-onset hazards that are
either made more intense, accelerated by, or caused by climate change. This contributes to voluntary migration flows but
at the same time, could increase displacement both internally and across borders. In order to adapt to the impacts of
climate change, some governments are already supporting the movement of climate change-affected communities.
Over the next three months, Pacific Governments from across the region will have six online sessions that will look
closely into some of the issues that arise from climate change related migration, displacement and relocation so that
this complex nexus becomes better understood within the region.
“The series of online dialogues will provide Pacific Governments with the opportunity to examine the challenges and
opportunities to enhance protection of people moving in relation to climate change and to review the related human
security implications” said Mr. Pär Liljert, IOM Pacific Coordinator.
Mr. Iosefa Maiava, Head of the ESCAP Subregional Office for the Pacific also added that “the dialogue will look to
identify policy and legal gaps in the context of climate related mobility that may be addressed through the
establishment of a potential regional process”. Professor Elisabeth Holland from the University of the South Pacific
presented on the scientific trajectory of climate change in the Pacific region and what the implications of warming
temperatures, sea level rise, loss of marine ecosystems would mean for future generations in the Pacific.
Pacific Government Officials participating in the dialogue welcomed the forward-looking approach and expressed a need to
deliver concrete policy measures to address this issue. The conversation on climate change and mobility is a difficult
one for the Pacific but it needs to be held now to ensure proper planning can take place to avoid makeshift responses.