Australia to boost Vanuatu's adaptation to climate change

Canberra [Australia], November 17: Australia's national science agency will deploy tools to Vanuatu to accelerate the Pacific nation's adaptation to climate change under a new partnership.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Friday announced the establishment of the Vanuatu Climate Futures Portal in partnership with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program.
Under the partnership, the CSIRO will provide tools including global and regional climate projections for rainfall, temperature, tropical cyclones, marine heatwaves and sea level rise to Vanuatu to help inform climate change adaptation, planning and support decisions.
Geoff Gooley, the project lead from the CSIRO, said in a media release that the partnership represented the best practice in putting climate change data in the hands of those who need it.
"We've learnt a lot through this unique collaboration with our partners in Vanuatu about how we develop, apply, and deliver tailored and targeted climate information," he said.
"We were guided by our partners through the project to focus on user needs, and to iterate on what has worked previously and what hasn't. Our team is proud to have delivered a product that will be so tangible and useful to its end-users."
The United Nations rates Vanuatu as one of most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change and the most at-risk country for natural disasters.
According to the CSIRO, the average annual temperature in Vanuatu has increased by approximately 0.7 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial period and sea levels have risen by 10-15 cm since 1993.
The new partnership was formed as part of the Climate Information Services For Resilient Development In Vanuatu (Van-KIRAP) project.
Source: Xinhua