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This report is an outcome of the high degree of cooperation and collaboration that exists between the implementing partners of the Australia Aid-funded Climate and Ocean Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac). specifically the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), the Pacific Community (SPC) and Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP) together with the valuable ongoing support from the national meteorological services in the IS partner countries and territories.

Increases in the frequency of extreme weather and climate events and the severity of their impacts on the natural environment and society have been observed across the globe in recent decades. In addition to natural climate variability and greenhouse-induced climate change, extreme weather and climate events produce the most pronounced impacts. In this paper, the climate of three island countries in the Western Pacific: Fiji, Samoa and Tuvalu, has been analysed. Warming trends in annual average maximum and minimum temperatures since the 1950s have been identified, in line with the global warming trend. We present recent examples of extreme weather and climate events and their impacts on the island countries in the Western Pacific: the 2011 drought in Tuvalu, the 2012 floods in Fiji and a tropical cyclone, Evan, which devastated Samoa and Fiji in December 2012. We also relate occurrences of the extreme weather and climate events to phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. The impacts of such natural disasters on the countries are severe and the costs of damage are astronomical. In some cases, climate extremes affect countries to such an extent that governments declare a national state of emergency, as occurred in Tuvalu in 2011 due to the severe drought’s impact on water resources. The projected increase in the frequency of weather and climate extremes is one of the expected consequences of the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentration and will likely have even stronger negative impacts on the natural environment and society in the future. This should be taken into consideration by authorities of Pacific Island Countries and aid donors when developing strategies to adapt to the increasing risk of climate extremes. Here we demonstrate that the modern science of seasonal climate prediction is well developed, with current dynamical climate models being able to provide skilful predictions of regional rainfall two-three months in advance. The dynamic climate model-based forecast products are now disseminated to the National Meteorological Services of 15 island countries in the Western Pacific through a range of web-based information tools. We conclude with confidence that seasonal climate prediction is an effective solution at the regional level to provide governments and local communities of island nations in the Western Pacific with valuable assistance for informed decision making for adaptation to climate variability and change.

Pacific islands are extremely vulnerable to climate change. Pacific island culture, traditions, economy and environment will be affected by the effects of climate change, marking an urgent call for partnerships and collaboration to increase the resilience of communities to adapt to these changes. More than 80% of Pacific Islanders live on or near the coast. Community action will ensure that Pacific islands are strengthened to reduce the impacts of climate change such as sea level rise and storm surges. This global change requires island action to protect your island home for future generations.

The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are currently heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Renewable energy (RE), mostly hydro, is estimated to contribute less than 10 percent of each PICs commercial energy use and the region is characterized by scattered and fragmented efforts to promote RE technologies that are based on unreliable and unsubstantiated data on RE resource potentials. The Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Project (PIREP) will facilitate the promotion within the PICs of the widespread implementation and ultimately, commercialisation of RE technologies (RETs) through the establishment of a suitable enabling environment. The establishment of an environment conducive to the region-wide adoption and commercialisation of RETs would involve the design, development and implementation of appropriate policies, strategies and interventions addressing the fiscal, financial, regulatory, market, technical and information barriers to RE development and utilization. It will also involve the development of interventions for strengthening of the relevant institutional structures and national capacity for the coordination and the sustainable management (design, implementation, monitoring, maintenance, evaluation and the marketing) of RE initiatives in each PIC. This Project Document has been revised to reflect minor changes suggested by SPREP at a meeting Friday the 6th of September 2002 between SPREP and UNDP to improve clarity concerning internal communications in SPREP between the CTA and the management level and external communications between SPREP and UNDP management levels. Refer to Part IV - Management Arrangements and the Terms of Reference in Appendix B. C.and D.

The Seventh Meeting of the Regional Meteorological Services Directors (RMSD) was convened by SPREP to advance regional collaboration in meteorology, climate services, and disaster risk reduction. Opening remarks by officials from SPREP, WMO, and the Government of Samoa emphasized the critical role of National Meteorological Services (NMSs) in supporting climate resilience and sustainable development across the Pacific. Key outcomes included reflections on the evolution of RMSD since 1993, the strategic importance of the 2000 Needs Analysis, and discussions on integrating meteorological services with broader policy frameworks, such as those informed by the IPCC and GCOS. The meeting reaffirmed commitments to regional cooperation, sustainable resourcing, and implementation of the Strategic Plan, while addressing challenges faced by under-resourced NMSs. A new chairperson from Samoa was elected, and the session reviewed prior recommendations to ensure continuity and effectiveness in service delivery.

International Waters is one of four focal areas of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GEF was created in 1994 to fulfill a unique niche - that of providing financing for programmes and projects to achieve global environment benefits in four focal areas: biodiversity, climate change, international waters, and ozone layer depletion — and in land degradation as it relates to these focal areas.

The main objective of the sixth RMSD, is to review and consider the draft Strategic Action Plan for the Development of Meteorology in the Pacific region (SDMP) prepared by die SPREP Secretariat.

Latent sea-level rise is defined here as the sea-level rise ultimately likely to occur due to emissions of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, i.e. if all anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases were to cease at a particular time, various global systems would continue to change in response to the gases remaining in the atmosphere until equilibrium was reached. Those systems include the atmosphere: the cryosphere, comprising snowfields,tundra soils, glaciers and ice-caps: the biosphere,including both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems: and the hydrosphere, incorporating the oceans and terrestrial waters.