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NMI turns down seat at climate change forum
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Posted on Oct 15 2008
[B]APIA, Samoa[/B]—The CNMI will be one of the few jurisdictions in the Pacific without a voice at this week’s Pacific Climate Change Roundtable, a four-day forum meant to bring together representatives from Pacific Islands to share regional and international actions on climate change.
Invitations were sent out to delegates from the Pacific Island nations and the U.S. territories in the Pacific, including the CNMI, but the Commonwealth was one of the few not to respond to the invite, said Espen Ronneberg, Climate Change Adviser for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
SPREP is a regional organization based in Apia that is charged with protecting and managing the region’s environment and natural resources.
Fiji was another location that did not respond to an invite from SPREP. Guam will have a delegate in attendance, Ronneberg said.
Delegates from the Pacific attending the roundtable, which is sponsored by the Switzerland government, will work to come up with a climate change action plan tailored to their individual jurisdiction. Some of the issues to be discussed will include the effect climate change has on agriculture, health and food security.
Officials from the United Nations, U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and University of the South Pacific will also be attendance.
When Gov. Benigno Fitial signed a proclamation declaring October as energy awareness month, he expressed interest in pursuing carbon capturing, which stores carbon dioxide instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.
Charles Reyes, press secretary for the CNMI Governor’s Office, said funding was probably the reason why a delegate from the Commonwealth was not sent to the roundtable.
