Pacific Islanders are pleading: help us, or we are gone. The tiny nations say they are doing all they can against climate change, but they are so small, their own efforts won't help much. They hope Australia will take note.

By TIFFANY KORSSEN

The message Pacific Island leaders took to the UN Climate Summit yesterday in New York, was that most of the developed world – including Australia – needed to do more to tackle climate change in the Pacific.

The developing region is at the front line of climate change, experiencing more of the  symptoms such as rising sea levels and frequent tropical cyclones.

Their small economies make it impossible to recover from these events without the financial commitment of countries like Australia.

Reducing carbon emissions as a first step to curtailing the impact of climate change is an urgent issue for Pacific leaders, who say their Australian neighbours should be doing more to help.

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi expressed his concern in a statement to the summit yesterday.

“Sadly, some among our global community had been dismissive and remain unconvinced [about climate change] … and many more had made promises that were not followed through with firm commitments and concrete action,”  Mr Tuilaepa said.

The Prime Minister said earlier in the year that his people were thankful for Australia’s contribution, but that more could be done.

“I am aware of the extreme preoccupation of the present [Australian] leadership with budget savings, [but] It is a question of survival that we are talking about,” he said.

“The threats have already occurred ... and are increasing in severity.

“We do hope Australia's ... current leadership could look at the Pacific Islands as a special case in terms of climate change,”  Mr Tuilaepa said.

The Climate Summit, which was organised by the UN to implement action against climate change, required leaders “to bring bold announcements” about their plans to reduce carbon emissions.

As well as suggesting more should be done by the global community, Mr Tuilaepa also outlined Samoa’s independent commitment to achieving 20 per cent carbon neutrality by 2030.

Tuvaluan Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga similarly announced at the summit yesterday that his nation would have 100 per cent renewable energy for its electricity supply by 2020.

“Despite Tuvalu being one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change, Tuvalu's future is in your hands … [but] we must all act together for the future of humankind,” Mr Sopoaga said.

The issues raised by Pacific leaders at the summit are strongly connected to those discussed earlier in the month at the UN International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The SIDS conference, which went from September 1-4 in Apia, Samoa, was heavily focused on how to prevent and deal with the effects of climate change in the region.

Australian climate change specialist Rebecca McNaught, who attended on behalf of the Australian Red Cross, said the conference highlighted how difficult it was for our Pacific neighbours to recover from the effects of climate change on their own.

“There was a sense from many speakers at the conference that the increases in the strength or number of disasters will affect SIDS greatly,”  she said.

“For example … Apia was devastated by Cyclone Evan in December 2012. The conference was reminded that this cyclone cost Samoa $A225 million in damages.

“This cost is equivalent to nearly one-third of the country's total economic output in 2011,”  Ms McNaught said.

The Abbott Government cut $110 million from aid to the Asia-Pacific region as part of broad cuts to overseas aid in the last Budget.

The co-ordinator for the Oceania region for Australian climate action group 350.org, Aaron Packard, said Australia could and should do more to stop the islands from “drowning”.

“The Australian Government is disconnected from its Pacific neighbours,” he said.

“We need to get the message across that the priority should be to help the Pacific Islands … not contribute to drowning them,”  Mr Packard said.

350.org divestment co-ordinator Vicky Fysh said she believed concerns raised by Pacific leaders about Australia’s commitment were valid.

“Australia’s current Government has cut aid to Pacific Islands,” she said.

“It’s pretty clear that currently there is no strong priority to form relationships with the Pacific and, as a part of our work, we would like to call out the Australian Government on not acting responsibly toward the Pacific region.

“The islands are really feeling the effects of climate change and we need to draw attention to the urgency of helping them,” Ms Fysh said.

In order to raise awareness in Australia, 350.org will host 30 Pacific Islanders from 12 different countries next month.

The representatives will paddle out in hand-built canoes into Newcastle harbour – one of the world’s largest coal ports – to attempt to stop coal exports for a day.

They will then go in pairs to each major Australian city to lead discussions on climate change in the region and what they believe Australians should be doing to help.

Mr Packard said the aim of the event was to give “a tangible and human face to the trauma that is happening in the Pacific”.

“We want turn our grief and the grief of our island neighbours into action and create a psychology in Australia that it’s not too late, so that more Australians will be open to help not only in the instance of disaster relief … but to stop carbon emissions and halt climate change,” he said.

Australian woman Makalite Faletanoai, who has Samoan heritage and has spent a good portion of her life travelling between the two countries, said she felt grateful to Australia but also felt more could be done.

Ms Faletanoai said she recalled playing on white sand beaches when she was younger – beaches now covered in rubbish as a result of the unprecedented ferocity of Cyclone Evan in 2012.

She was concerned there were still people living in disaster accommodation close to the capital city, Apia.

“I think Australia should definitely contribute more because we’re neighbours. It’s important … we do have the money to do it but the Government would rather spend it elsewhere, I guess,” she said.

“Cyclones are happening more frequently and they are stronger.

“A lot of people aren’t aware of how bad it is and how much of an impact it’s having. Many people there just don’t have the money to rebuild,” Ms Faletanoai said..

The outcome of the UN Climate Summit, which concluded yesterday in New York, will be communicated at a series of news conferences throughout the week.