Second National Climate Change Report Released
After a “number of years” work, the National Environment Service (NES) presented the completed Second National Communication (2NC) report under the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC). The launch of the report took place at USP on Friday 13 April.
The report itself is a “stocktake” of what the Cook Islands has done in the area of climate change since the First National Communication was released in 1999, to the present day. It contains updated information on how the Cook Islands is likely to be exposed to climate change, as well as impacts of climate change on various sectors including health, agriculture, biodiversity, marine resources, coastal areas and wind resources. The report also looks at Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, updated relevant scientific data collected locally, climate change activities and projects undertaken since the initial communication and “constraints and gaps” in addressing climate change.
Prime Minister Hon. Henry Puna, who was invited to speak in his capacity as the Minister for Environment but was unable to attend, was represented by Repeta Puna. Puna spoke on behalf of the PM saying that since the First National Communication was released in 1999 the Cook Islands has “advanced greatly in looking at the issues of climate change”. The establishment of both the Renewable Energy and Climate Change divisions within the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) were noted as significant steps towards addressing some of the issues highlighted in the 2NC, such as a 34% increase in GHG emissions since 1994. Puna also expressed thanks on behalf of the PM to the Climate Change Country Team (CCCT), NES and various civil society, non-government, regional and international organisations.
Vaitoti Tupa, Director of NES, also made acknowledgments to Tania Temata, Pasha Carruthers, Mii Matamaki and the entire CCCT for their hard work, before a short video presentation was shown. The presentation gave an overview of the report and featured several key personnel involved in producing the report including Mii Matamaki, Pasha Carruthers, Vaitoti Tupa and Arona Ngari, who is chair of the CCCT. The report fulfils obligations the Cook Islands has to the UNFCCC as a result of signing the UNFCCC agreement in 1992 and its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2003. -Ngariki Ngatae

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