13 February 2006The Sydney Morning HeraldCynthia Banham
A World Bank report has warned that climate change will have a huge impact on Pacific islands, and has cautioned against adopting a "wait and mitigate" approach to the looming crises that are expected to affect the region.
The report, entitled Not If But When, says the impact of climate change will be felt most heavily in low-lying atolls and that Kiribati could experience flooding by rising sea waters of up to 80 per cent of the land mass in some areas.
The report warns that in Fiji climate change could result in a 100 per cent increase in cyclone damage, an increase in dengue fever cases of between 20 and 30 per cent and a decline in crop yields of up to 15 per cent.
"With the climate trend for the Pacific pointing to more extreme conditions and increased climate variability in future, Pacific island countries have little choice but to develop comprehensive risk management plans for the natural hazards they face," the report says.
Climate change could result in average temperatures rising by between one and 3.1 degrees celsius, and sea levels rising by between nine and 90 centimetres by the end of the century. The eastern Pacific would experience the largest rise, the report says.
"Without adaptation policies and initiatives in place, the impacts of climate change are likely to be significant and pervasive and fall disproportionately on the poor," the report says. "Sectors as varied as agriculture, water supply, coastal infrastructure, natural ecosystems and health are likely to be affected."
Last month Labor released a policy urging the Federal Government to develop a comprehensive climate change strategy for the Pacific, which would include establishing an international coalition of countries willing to accept climate change refugees from the Pacific Rim.
The Opposition spokesman for Pacific island affairs, Bob Sercombe, said the World Bank report vindicated Labor's calls for government action, where it stated: "We suggest to Pacific island leaders, communities and their development partners that the traditional approach of 'wait and mitigate' is a far worse strategy than proactively managing risk."
Australia's Pacific neighbours were at the "front line of climate change", Mr Sercombe said, and the Government needed to "pull its head out of the sand".
"[Labor] put forward in early January a comprehensive proposal in relation to addressing climate change in the Pacific and the World Bank is saying very similar things in terms of the priorities of countries such as Australia," he said.
When Labor's report was issued, a spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, said the rise in sea levels was a "long-term issue and it is too early [for] an accurate assessment of regional trends".
