‘Climate change fight common in region’

By PETER ESILA
THE fight against climate change is a common issue faced by Papua New Guinea and New Zealand as economies in the Apec region, New Zealand Apec senior official Mark Talbot says.
Talbot made the comments via a virtual conference in Port Moresby on Friday.
New Zealand High Commissioner Philip Taula said in Port Moresby on Friday that New Zealand would host the virtual Apec meeting in November.
Talbot said two crisis facing the 21 Apec economies today were the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and climate crisis.
He said Apec was important as it gave countries like New Zealand and PNG the opportunity to sit on the same tables with bigger world economies like the US, China and Japan and discuss issues.
“The region has been facing some real challenges that we all face, tensions and problems, so it is a valuable opportunity for smaller countries inside our region to be heard,” he said.
“Seventy-five per cent of New Zealand exports go to Apec economies, so being able to talk to them and try to space trade policy makes a huge deference, especially at a time where our economies faced the Covid-19.
“This is the biggest health crisis as well as an economic crisis, with Apec suffering the GDP contraction.”