The Pacific Islands security narrative is often dominated by voices and interests from outside of the region. At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue, among the hype surrounding geo-strategic competition in the Pacific, Fiji’s Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu said that the “single greatest threat to our very existence is ... human-induced, devastating climate change.”

Civil societies are key actors in the fight against climate change. They provide a fillip where state agencies and intergovernmental processes lag and have the potential to hold these actors accountable in the fight against climate change. The People’s Republic of China, despite all its trappings of being a communist authoritarian state, has allowed a considerable yet well-defined space for environmental civil society organisations, including those working on climate change.

Australia’s First Nations people face many threats from climate change, ranging from impacts on food availability to health. For instance, rising seas are already flooding islands in the Torres Strait with devastating consequences.

Migration is a potentially adaptive response to climate change. Adaptive migration responses do not involve only permanent movement away from a climate vulnerable site; temporary migration, when migrants may bring or send back additional funds, new knowledge, upgraded skills and other resources, can help to build resilience among communities in climate vulnerable areas.

There is no doubt that climate change needs to be addressed by all countries in a concerted manner. The fact remains, however, that there is a wide variance among countries both in terms of capacity to address and culpability for the problem. Developing and least developed countries are likely to suffer disproportionately the effects of climate change.

War is the worst destruction of the environment and human rights. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is truly a humanitarian crisis. In addition, the war has caused extensive damage to the environment, the effects of which are feared to be long-lasting. Even if the war were to end, the environmental devastation and pollution will make reconstruction difficult.