Updated action plan on Pacific climate change to be released



The Pacific Climate Change Rountable, Alofi, Niue

16 March, Alofi, Niue - The Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change 2006 – 2015 is a document that was at the centre of discussion at the Pacific Climate Change Roundtable in Alofi, Niue.


The PIFACC (as it is known) is a regional plan that aims to ensure the Pacific Island peoples and communities build their capacity to be resilient to the risks and impacts of climate change by helping to drive concrete actions in different areas.

These are; implementing adaptation measures; governance and decision-making; improving our understanding of climate change; education, training and awareness; contributing to global greenhouse gas reduction; and partnerships and cooperation.


The PIFACC underwent a review in 2010 to gauge the effectiveness of this plan and to analyse how it is being used by countries and regional partners.


It was found that the PIFACC was a useful document but it had low awareness and limited use.


“It became evident that many of our countries are using the PIFACC to guide their national climate change policies, not all of them are doing so,” said Espen Ronneberg the Climate Change Adviser at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“Regional partners are often referencing the framework in their proposals but it is not always fully incorporated in them. There is a need for a streamlined approach to ensure the PIFACC is truly implemented by the different activities at the regional level and the benefits to the countries are in line with the national priorities outlined in the framework.”

During the Pacific Climate Change Roundtable in Alofi, Niue, all participants were brought up to date on the progress of the PIFACC review and the response to the recommendations from the review.

A monitoring and evaluation framework to track the progress of the PIFACC is to be included, along with a more user friendly executive summary and the inclusion of national and regional outputs.

In other words, the PIFACC will become more useful and relevant for the Pacific region.

“The Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change is driven by national priorities. We’re trying to find the best way that the regional level of activities can support the national climate change priorities and be targeted towards country needs.”

It is planned the new PIFACC will be ready by June this year.

The Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change (PIFACC) can be found at: http://www.sprep.org/climate_change/pycc/documents/PIFACC.pdf