Pacific Community to attend France-Oceania Summit in Paris

Noumea

The President of France, His Excellency François Hollande, has officially invited the Pacific Community (SPC) to take part in the Fourth France-Oceania Summit in Paris on 26 November 2015.

The summit will take place on the eve of the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), which will also be held in Paris.

Attending the summit alongside Pacific leaders and key regional institutions, SPC will be represented by the Pacific Community Director-General, Dr Colin Tukuitonga; Deputy Director-General, Cameron Diver; and its Director of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability, Sylvie Goyet.

“It’s an honour for the Pacific Community to be invited to this important Oceania-focused summit which comes at a crucial time for Pacific people,” Dr Tukuitonga said.

“As we know, we’re at a critical point in terms of the global response to climate change and we have a narrow window in terms of reducing emissions. If the Paris COP fails to deliver meaningful emissions reductions it will only worsen the emerging climate crisis in the Pacific and this is a fundamental message the world needs to hear,” he said.

It is a reciprocal invitation following SPC hosting President Hollande and France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Laurent Fabius, and Pacific Leaders at a High-level Dialogue on Climate Change at the international organisation’s headquarters in Noumea in November 2014.

The dialogue played an important role in promoting the exchange of views and objectives between France and Pacific Island countries to ensure COP 21’s success and to increase international awareness of the challenges facing the Pacific.

Media contact: Jean-Noël Royer, SPC Communications Officer, [email protected] or +687 87 70 63

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