Apenisa Waqairadovu 
A senior regional environment official has strongly pushed back against comments by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji that survival and livelihoods should take priority over climate change.
Amena Yauvoli from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme says climate change remains the most serious threat facing the Pacific and cannot be treated as secondary.
His comments come during a panel discussion at the launch of the latest Asian Development Bank outlook, where Ariff Ali stressed the need to focus on immediate economic pressures, including the global fuel crisis.
However, Yauvoli says such an approach is too narrow and fails to address the long-term impacts of environmental degradation.
“Climate change is the most existential threat that human beings are facing right now. The solution cannot just be economics, it has to be broader, looking at long-term mitigation and support for communities on the ground.”
Yauvoli is also cautioning against any move toward coal or fossil fuel reliance, saying Pacific nations must instead invest in renewable energy and stronger regional cooperation.
He adds that global frameworks such as South-South cooperation can help address technology gaps and support sustainable solutions.
