Thumbs Up On Media Dialogue For Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)

Nine Pacific journal­ists were hosted to a two-day media dia­logue with stakehold­ers and donors with hopes of understand­ing and improving the communication of the region’s Nationally Determined Contribu­tions (NDCs) to the public.

With the help of the Regional Pa­cific NDC Hub, the dialogue was held parallel to the Hub’s ‘focal point meeting’ – where a new steer­ing committee was elected among other matters

It was also an opportunity to have talk about the Pacific’s focal points on their national climate plans un­der the Paris Agreement.

Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) journalist, Sharon Nanau, said the dialogue al­lowed her to ask the right questions concerning the NDC Hub projects back in the Solomon Islands.

“People’s lives are affected by cli­mate change back home, and with the knowledge grasped from the me­dia dialogue, I will be able to look at our country’s NDCs and crosscheck how we are cutting down on emis­sions and fighting climate change,” Ms Nanau said.

“For us as journalists, one of the challenges is understanding the science behind these climate crises and having to break it down to sim­pler terms for our readers.”

She added that the face-to-face meeting after a span of two years was well overdue and an opportu­nity not to miss because it allowed journalists to understand more about the role of the NDC Hub.

Kiribati’s Investigative Freelance journalist, Rimon Rimon, said bringing stakeholders under one roof to discuss the role of the me­dia was significant for him.

“The media plays a very impor­tant role in whatever situation they are put in and so forming a partner­ship of understanding with these technical people from the various stakeholders builds a link of under­standing,” Mr Rimon said.

“We do what we do for the sake of the public to keep them informed and be able to make their own de­cisions on certain climate-related situations.”

In Kiribati, he said many would question the implementers of cli­mate change policies because of the lack of information provided by those in high level authority.

“Some authorities will not want to release information and data when approached, especially when it’s dealing with the NDC. Now that we have finally got to understand the role of the NDC Hub, we will be able to approach them more confi­dently for the sake of our people,” he said.

Assistant chief executive officer of the Renewable Energy Division under the Ministry of Natural Re­sources and Environment in Sa­moa, Vainalepa Toiata Vili, praised the Regional Pacific NDC Hub for the massive assistance to island states in the region.

“A lot of Pacific Island countries have submitted their second en­hanced NDCs to UNFCCC, and so we have developed roadmaps and investment plans in place, sort of like a readiness programme, in terms of implementation for all Pa­cific Island countries. And we could not have done that with the support of the Regional Pacific NDC Hub,” Ms Vili said.

“The hub is a one-stop shop for all Pacific Island countries. We feel that we own this, and they are there for us whenever we need their help.

“We also want to acknowledge the work that all our donor partners have contributed to. And we do look forward to continuing this partner­ship because it has been quite suc­cessful as it’s always good to have that centralised space for Pacific Island countries to talk to amongst themselves,” she said.

Feedback: kelera.sovasiga@fijisun.com.fj