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Reducing the risk of climate change requires large and rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, most of which are caused by the burning of fossil energy sources (1). The debate around emission reductions has been dominated by concern for economic growth, and its reliance on cheap and plentiful energy. Instead, I believe energy’s role in achieving human development should be our core priority.

The concept of ‘climate finance’ has gained considerable currency following commitments from developed countries to provide new and additional funding for action on climate change. There have been a series of studies estimating the size of the financing need and assessments of how the international financing architecture can meet those needs. Sources of ‘climate finance’ comprise not only finance that governments spend, but also private finance for private actions on climate change. These studies have served a useful purpose of putting the mobilization and effective use of increased international resources for action on climate change firmly on the agenda.

The Pacific Islands Greenhouse Gas Abatement through Renewable Energy Project (PIGGAREP) is a Global Environment Facility (GEF) US$5.25 million project in eleven Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Implementation of the project started on 1 January 2008. PIGGAREP’s planned five year duration has been extended to six and a half years, with a scheduled end date now of December 2013.

PACC reports

Reports from the PACC project

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) submitted its Initial National Communication in October, 1999. This Second National Communication uses it as the baseline to document the increases in FSM's vulnerability to climate change, and changes in its greenhouse gas emissions, since the Initial National Communication was prepared. This National Communication also reports on the efforts FSM is making to reduce its emissions and to identify and implement adaptation options that reduce climate risks.

Technical report

As recently as a decade ago, discussions about climate change were nearly exclusively the province of experts in environmental and atmospheric science. In doubt about the reliability of available information on the causes and effects of climate change, world opinion leaders as well as the wider public scuttled around questions about how much they could actually achieve or, indeed, whether it was even necessary to do anything at all. Today, the effects of climate change are felt all over the world and climate change is no longer a theory or a meteorological model that interests only a few people. Because of the scientific work that has been done, more people now understand how human activities are hastening it. There is also more and more recognition that climate change seriously threatens sustainable human development. Now and in future, it affects or will affect agriculture, energy, human health, food security, the economy, and physical infrastructure.

The Government and UNDP have entered into a commitment to govern UNDP's assistance to the cook islands provided under the special Fund Agreement with New Zealand("SFA")Signed by the New Zealand government on its behalf on 29 june 1963. This Country Programme Action Plan together with the Annual Workplans(AWP),(which shall be deemed annexes to this CPAP)Concluded hereunder constitute toghther the project documents as refered to in the SFA.