Morobe forms climate team

 By ELLEN TIAMU

MOROBE is the first province in the country to establish a climate change committee.

The 13-member committee, chaired by Provincial Administrator Gioving Bilong, was sworn in at the Lae International Hotel last Friday.

Bilong said there was no blueprint available for the committee to go by “…but it is time to get together and tackle the issue of climate change”.

“There is no funding and resources but we will find some money somewhere as we move into unknown and unchartered waters,” he said.

Bilong said while the challenges were huge, he has every confidence in the capabilities and competence of committee members to address issues of global warming and climate change affecting Morobe and Papua New Guinea.

The swearing-in ceremony was witnessed by the executive director of the Climate Change and Development Office, executive director Varigini Badira.

Badira gave an undertaking that the Office of Climate Change would assist the committee with funding for the establishment of an office in Lae.

The committee consists of senior scientists Simon Saulei, Director of the Forest Authority Forest Research Institute and Director-General of the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI), Raghunath Ghodake.

Other members include, Dr Ashley Brooks, Dr Ora Renagi, Taikone Guakoro, Stanley Komun, Vincent Batau, Robin Kiki, Keto Vari, Charlie Masange and Albert Tokave.

Goleng Fanamu is the only female representative.

The scientific opinion on climate change is that the earth’s climate system is warming up and that much of this change is caused by humans through activities that increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

These activities include burning of fossil fuels, increased used of aerosols and deafforestation.

As is happening in other parts of the world, the impact of climate change in PNG can already be noticed through the increase in sea levels, flooding and changes in weather patterns.