Fijian Activist for Global Climate Action Summit
It will showcase climate action taking place around the world and hopes to inspire deeper commitments from each other and national governments.
Aclimate change activist will represent Fiji and those from the Pacific affected by climate change at the Global Climate Action Summit to be held in San Francisco next month. Kelepi Saukitoga from Narikoso, Ono, Kadavu, has been selected as a Climate Change Trailblazer.
GIZ Pacific co-ordinator James MacBeth said Mr Saukitoga’s actions have aided in bringing attention to the stark realities of climate change impacts on coastal Fijian communities to relevant authorities and stakeholders. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH or GIZ in short is a German development agency that provides services in the field of international development co-operation.
It mainly implements technical co-operation projects of the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ).
“Kelepi’s village home is one of seven homes experiencing coastal inundation on a daily basis,” Mr MacBeth said.
“He is the catalyst for the Narikoso Village relocation project. His foresight made him propose relocating the village to community elders.” In partnership with the Government, the community of Narikoso the EU-GIZ ACSE (Adaptating to Climate Change and Sustainable Energy) Programme is working towards relocating the community to a safer site complete with climate resilient homes.
“He is a community man at heart, a father of four, and regularly champions causes on food security and income generating initiatives that will directly benefit the community adding to its resilience.”
In 2014 Government decided that the people of Narikoso Village would be moved to a new site since the current site was prone to coastal erosion and storm surges.
Narikoso is one of the seven villages in the district of Ono. The other six villages are Vabea, Waisomo, Naqara, Nabouwalu, Buliya and Dravuni.
The Global Climate Action Summit is from September 12-14, this year. Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California; Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Michael Bloomberg, United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change; and Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, are hosting the Summit. The summit will bring together leaders from all walks of life – including government, business, and civil society – to demonstrate how the tide has turned in the race against climate change.
It will showcase climate action taking place around the world and hopes to inspire deeper commitments from each other and national governments.
The summit aims to reach a climate turning point on greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 in order to prevent the worst effects of climate change, and demonstrate that stronger commitments are necessary, desirable and achievable.