MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Senator Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change and Water, and Mr Stephen Smith, Minister for Foreign Affairs
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Stephen Smith, and Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, today announced $20 million to help Australia's neighbours in the Pacific and East Timor better understand how climate change will impact on them.
"The $20 million Pacific Climate Change Science Program will help Pacific Island countries carry out research on the likely effects of climate change in the region," Senator Wong said.
The program will involve working with Pacific Island nations to help them track climate trends, investigate regional climate drivers, provide regional climate projections, and improve understanding of ocean processes, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
"Climate change has the potential to affect some of the poorest and most vulnerable nations with challenges including sea level rise, more intense storms and floods, water shortages, and the resulting impacts on water and food security.
"The vulnerability of countries in our neighbourhood highlights the need for a comprehensive and effective global agreement on climate change.
"Among the Rudd Government's climate change priorities is helping forge such an agreement, along with reducing Australia's carbon pollution and adapting to the climate change that is already happening."
Mr Smith said that climate change had the potential to impact on the region's ability to meet the Millennium Development Goals by exacerbating existing development challenges.
"The program will provide improved information about climate risks to help the region better target future development assistance and help protect the development gains they have made in recent years," Mr Smith said.
The Pacific Climate Change Science Program will be managed by the Department of Climate Change in collaboration with AusAID. It will be delivered by the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO through their research partnership in the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research.
This collaboration will help foster a cooperative research network for countries in the region, for other international science agencies and for Australian universities, to build climate science capacity in the region.
The program is part of the Australian Government's $150 million commitment through the International Climate Change Adaptation Initiative to meet high priority climate adaptation needs in vulnerable countries in our region.