Last September, the Pacific Climate Warriors (PCWs) took to the streets during the Global Climate Strikes and rallied behind campaigns to halt the fossil fuel industry.
Now, the Pacific Pawa Up Fellowship (PPUF) recently concluded, spanning twelve weeks, featuring 30 Pacific Climate Warriors from nine Pacific Island Countries. This exercise has highlighted the need for activists to support and encourage their governments to stand together and build collective power against the fossil fuel industry and other major global polluters. The PPUF training focused upon 'Principles of a Just Recovery', which included putting people's health first without exception, providing economic relief directly to the workers and communities (not corporate executives), creating resilience for future crises, and building solidarity and community across borders - not empowering authoritarians.
"Combined with the incessant impacts of climate change such as Cyclone Harold, which amounted to at least $US123.5 million in damages, Pacific islanders are constantly reminded that climate change is not going to slow down, nor disappear regardless of a pandemic," said Patricia Mallam, one of the PPUF participants
Fiji's Ernest Gibson, said there was no way "we can go back to normal."
'We are not drowning, we are fighting', says Okalani Mariner from Samoa.
Topics also included measures for shifting narratives on climate action and climate justice to enable the dismantling of support for the fossil fuel industry.