Press Releases
Looking for more press releases? Explore our full press release archive by date to access past announcements, news updates, and media releases published on Palau Climate Watch.
SPREP calls for more robust regime to address the full life cycle of Ghost Gear
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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November 18, 2023
18 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - Abandoned, Lost, Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG), also known as Ghost Gear, is one of the most harmful forms of marine debris devastating our Ocean. Studies have found that 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear,...
Tuvalu negotiator optimistic about ongoing plastic treaty negotiations
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 2, 2023
02 June 2023, Paris France - Slow progress is better than no progress at all. That’s the view of the Director of Tuvalu’s Department of Waste Management, Mr Epu Falega, as negotiations at the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating...
Paris delivers mandate for zero draft as momentum builds towards plastic treaty
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 15, 2023
12 June 2023, Paris France – The global community is one step closer towards a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, with the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) in...
Sub-regional training kicks off to build Pacific capacity in the use of the Impacts Methodology
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 15, 2023
12 June 2023, Apia Samoa. Climate change practitioners from Fiji, Kiribati, and Samoa will benefit from a training organised by the EU funded Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Scaling Up Pacific Adaptation (GCCA+ SUPA) Project in partnership...
Tonga Chairs 3rd SPREP Executive Board Meeting, encourages active engagement from members
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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January 21, 2023
08 September 2022, Apia, Samoa - Tonga has been appointed to Chair the 3rd Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme’s (SPREP) Executive Board meeting taking place on 08 September – 09 September 2022. The Chief Executive Officer of...
Australia reaffirms support for Pacific countries, commits to ambitious plastics treaty
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
31 May 2023, Paris France –Australia has reiterated its commitment to negotiating an ambitious and legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution by 2040. The commitment during the opening plenary of INC-2 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris...
We have no time to lose, AOSIS implores plastics treaty negotiations
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
31 May 2023, Paris France – The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) has lent its support to calls for urgent attention to the formulation of a treaty to address plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. With French President His...
SEACAT 2024 Concludes, Reinforcing Maritime Security Efforts Among Allies and Partners in Southeast Asia
U.S. Navy
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August 28, 2024
SEACAT is a multilateral exercise designed to strengthen cooperation among Southeast Asian countries and provide mutual support toward a common goal of addressing crises, contingencies, and illegal activities in the maritime domain with...
Samoa, as AOSIS Chair, calls for solidarity in plastics treaty negotiations on the eve of INC-2 in Paris
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 29, 2023
28 May 2023, Paris France - On the eve of the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC2) in Paris France,...
Pacific voice loud and clear at plastic treaty negotiations in Paris
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 6, 2023
Q and A with H.E Ambassador Ilana Seid, Permanent Representative of Palau to the UN and Chair of Pacific Small Island Developing States 2 June 2023, Paris France – Nearly 200 countries are meeting in Paris this week to negotiate one of the most...
Pacific Women Negotiators take the lead
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 2, 2023
Ms Anama Solofa, Lead Negotiator on Ocean Issues, Alliance of Small Island States 1 June 2023, Paris France - More than 190 governments are now negotiating a new global treaty to end plastic pollution through an Intergovernmental Negotiation...
Pacific Women heard at global negotiations for a plastic treaty
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 30, 2023
30 May 2023, Paris France - Of just over 50 Pacific Islands delegates attending the global negotiations for a legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, half are women negotiators with one Pacific Island delegation consisting solely of women....
After procedural delays, Pacific delegates dive into nitty gritty of plastics treaty negotiations
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 2, 2023
01 June 2023, Paris France - Representatives from 12 Pacific island countries are in France this week with a common goal, to advance the discussions on the formulation of a treaty to end plastic pollution. It is the latest step in a journey dating...
Pacific, the moral voice in global plastic negotiations
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 17, 2023
As custodians of the world’s largest Ocean, the Pacific like in the climate change negotiations have the moral authority to speak out and lead international negotiations on plastic waste. The Pacific is disproportionately affected by global...
Pacific delegates adopt the first ever amendment to the Waigani convention
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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October 19, 2023
The extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the Waigani Convention made history today as Parties to the Convention adopted its first-ever amendment marking a significant step toward aligning the Convention with international...
The Pacific Voice heard as the world builds a new Plastics Treaty.
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 30, 2023
Q and A with Mr Anthony Talouli of SPREP. 29 May 2023, Paris France - According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), our global community faces a plastic pollution crisis. We produce more than 430 million tonnes of plastic each...
Every minute of today counts, Cook Islands appeals over INC-2 procedural impasse
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 30, 2023
30 May 2023, Paris France - For Pacific island communities at the forefront of the impacts of the plastic pollution crisis, every minute of the day counts in the global effort to negotiate a legally binding instrument to address the problem. The...
Our Pacific Challenge: What do we need to know to conserve turtles?
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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October 16, 2023
03 October 2023, Apia Samoa - Sea turtles are cultural icons across the Pacific region and are embedded in the customs and traditions of Pacific communities – featuring in myths, legends, songs and traditions. Turtles are also important for...
USS Blue Ridge Returns from Summer Patrol
U.S. Navy
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August 22, 2024
Blue Ridge departed Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka on June 4. During the patrol, the ship and the Seventh Fleet staff participated in Valiant Shield—a multinational, biennial field training exercise focused on sustaining joint forces in a...
EU GCCA+ Scaling Up Pacific Adaptation assists Fijian communities
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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April 24, 2023
20 April 2023, Suva Fiji - The European Union funded GCCA+ Scaling Up Pacific Adaptation project’s work to enhance climate change adaptation and resilience in the region turned its attention to communities in Fiji during a two-week mission from 27...