A partnership between the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and Pasifika TV will enable stories on the region's participation in COP28 to be shared with audiences in 13 island nations.

The Apia-based SPREP has signed a partnership agreement with Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PCBL) or Pasifika TV for content on the Pacific’s journey at COP28 in Dubai to be told and shared with audiences in 13 Pacific states over the next two weeks, according to a media release issued by the regional environment body on Wednesday.

The Pasifika TV Media team has touched down in Dubai, joining more than 300 Pacific leaders and delegates, who are here to amplify the One Pacific Voice calling on world leaders for urgent and ambitious action to address climate change. 

The team led by Pasifika TV Chief Operations Officer, Junior Hunter and PACHUB Operations Manager, Karl Schodt, includes Amelia Rigsby and Jone Tomuse from Fiji, Sinivar Kasimani from Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Mareva Cameron from the Cook Islands. The team covers Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia and was selected after a four-week training programme conducted by SPREP and Pasifika TV.

"We are really excited to be at COP28 representing our broadcasters from the Pacific region,” said Mr. Hunter in the statement. “Our primary focus is about understanding how the decisions made at COP28 will impact the Pacific region, and what that means to us, as Pacific people, and the generations to come. 

"To provide insights into the efforts undertaken by our Pacific leaders, delegations, and all attending officials at this crucial meeting and finally, take our Pacific people on a journey through COP28 and the many important side events being held.”

The 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is taking place from Thursday 30 November 2023 to Tuesday 12 December 2023.

Pacific delegates will join more than 70,000 officials at COP28. The key ticket items are the completion of the first Global Stocktake (GST) under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the operationalising of the funding arrangements for Loss and Damage, a new collective quantified goal (NCQG) on climate finance, and the global goal on adaptation, among other items. 

The One Pacific Voice at COP is an integral part of the global forum. A key part of amplifying the One Pacific Voice is the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, which is a Pacific partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia and the Pacific Delegation Office, which is a partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand. Both the Moana Pacific Pavilion and the Pacific Delegation Office are managed by SPREP.

For reporters Ms Rigsby, of Fiji Broadcasting Corporation TV and Ms Cameron, of Cook Islands TV News, this is their first time covering a COP and they can hardly wait for it to start.

“As an indigenous woman living in the Pacific islands, with children who will be living with the consequences of climate change, this meeting is very important,” said Ms Rigsby. “I want to report on what’s happening in a way that people at home can understand, stories that my uncles and aunties who live in the village can understand, people who are living in the islands can understand so that it will help them make informed choices when they’re making decisions for themselves and their children.”

Ms Cameron echoed a similar sentiment, saying: “I’m super excited to be here. Climate change and the environment is something that has always interested me so being here at COP and being able to report on what is happening is a privilege I hope to be able to use to strengthen my ability to make a difference in the line of work we do. 

“I hope to learn more about the process and through my reporting be able to break down the jargon and tell stories in a way where our communities back home can understand.”

SPREP Media and Public Relations Officer, Sosikeni Ramese Lesa, acknowledged the work of Pasifika TV and said SPREP looks forward to growing the partnership with PCBL at COP28.

“The media plays such an important role in the work we do to amplify the One Pacific Voice in these spaces, especially being the eyes and ears of our Pacific communities who cannot be part of this process physically,” Mr Lesa said.