Largest Pacific climate-adaptation study launched at COP29

Photo caption: UC Distinguished Professor Steven Ratuva is a driving force behind the largest study of climate adaptation in the Pacific region, the Pacific Ocean Climate Crisis Assessment (POCCA) study.

Led by Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) and the University of the South Pacific (USP), the three-year study involved over 100 scholars and community experts working across 16 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). 

The final report is due to be launched in Azerbaijan, 11 November, at the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29), which is an international forum for world leaders to assess countries’ efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C, in line with the 2016 Paris agreement. UC is one of the very few universities in the world to be accredited to the United Nations climate conferences process. Professor Ratuva’s team succeeded in negotiating for UC to attend COP and other UN meetings, as well as organising a special side event for the report launch at COP29.    

The Pacific Ocean Climate Crisis Assessment (POCCA) study found that a range of climate adaptation strategies, including relocating households and villages, are already being employed across the Pacific region. The study provided an analysis of climate-change impacts, responses and adaptation strategies in the region using multidisciplinary approaches from natural science, social science, humanities and Indigenous knowledge. It brings to the surface the impacts on emotional, cultural, economic, psychological, and environmental experiences of Pacific communities. 

While researchers heard stories of anguish and anxiety caused by the consequences of the climate crisis such as sea-level rise and more severe storms, there were also stories of hope and resilience. 

“Pacific people are bringing traditional knowledge and generations of resilience to the current challenges of climate change,” Professor Ratuva says. “It is essential to weave the peoples’ voices and community narratives with scientific evidence to build a complete picture of the unique challenges and the solutions the region faces.” 

Professor Ratuva, who is Pro-Vice-Chancellor Pacific and Director of the Macmillan Brown Centre of Pacific Studies at UC, spearheaded the study in response to requests from across the Pacific region, which is disproportionally impacted by climate change. 

“Pacific leaders and community organisations were asking for comprehensive research and evidence-based adaptation and resilience strategies, and approaches to address the increasing impacts of climate change,” he says. “We therefore collaborated to create a large-scale study with funding from the Aotearoa New Zealand International Development Cooperation Programme, administered by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.”

All of Aotearoa New Zealand’s universities, as well as universities from Australia and the Pacific region, and Crown Research Institutes joined the project. The resulting 1000-page, two-volume report sheds light on the impacts of climate change on intersecting issues including culture, health, wellbeing, socio-economic life, infrastructure, environment, infrastructures, identity, geo-politics, transnational crime, resources, mobility, security, sense of place, governance system, economic wellbeing, and power relations. 

Professor Ratuva will invite international leaders to continue discussions of the issues raised by the POCCA report at the 8th Adaptation Futures Conference (AF2025), which is part of the United Nations World Adaptation Science Programme (WASP) to be hosted at UC in 2025. The conference is set to convene 1500 of the world's leading network of scientists, practitioners, governments, industry and community, youth, educators and communicators at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre.

Watch the Science Media Centre webinar briefing with Professor Steven Ratuva, University of Canterbury (Project co-lead), Dr Hilda Sakiti-Waqa, University of the South Pacific (Project manager) and Associate Professor Awnesh Singh, University of the South Pacific (Project co-lead). 
 

About the Pacific Ocean Climate Crisis Assessment (POCCA)
The POCCA project provides an interdisciplinary, multicultural, and transnational study of the impacts of climate change and community responses covering 16 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs): Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. 

POCCA brought together the largest number of Pacific scholars ever to work together collaboratively on a single project. The project helped to transform and enrich the Pacific research culture, regional networking and collaboration in significant ways. Those involved were from all universities in New Zealand (University of Canterbury, University of Otago, Lincoln University, Victoria University of Wellington, Massey University, University of Waikato, University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology) as well as crown research entities such as the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA) and Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS); universities from the Pacific region (University of the South Pacific, National University of Samoa, Fiji National University, Solomon Island National University, University of Papua New Guinea, and University of Hawaii); as well as scholars from Australian universities (University of Melbourne, University of Queensland, Griffith University, and University of Tasmania).   

The disciplines represented include meteorology, oceanography, biology, physics, geography, environmental studies, geology, hydrology, engineering, medicine, public health, nursing, sociology, social anthropology, social work, history, economics, accounting, development studies, political science, education, fisheries, agriculture, sustainability, international relations, media studies, cultural studies, Indigenous studies, history, accounting, theology, psychology, law, policy, management, and governance. This diversity of intellectual, applied, and methodological approaches shows the multidimensional, interdisciplinary nature of climate change. Climate change affects every aspect of Earth’s physical environment as well as every facet of social, cultural, economic, technological, political, infrastructural, psychological, and spiritual life. The report covers all these aspects by weaving together technical assessments as well as Pacific community narratives and Indigenous knowledge.