Press Releases

Journey to Ottawa: Pacific countries ready to negotiate revised draft text of plastics treaty

12 April 2024, Apia Samoa - To say waste generation - including plastic pollution is a global problem - would be stating things quite mildly. The statistics are in fact staggering, and even more concerning especially for Pacific countries who...

Let’s just get on with it, Fiji urges plastics treaty negotiators in Nairobi

13 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - As negotiators from all over the world gather in Nairobi, Kenya, for the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution,...

Tuvalu spotlights human rights at global plastics treaty negotiations

15 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - Delegates and negotiators attending the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment...

GEF ISLANDS Pacific Project holds Second Steering Committee Meeting in New Zealand

16 February 2023, Auckland New Zealand - Pacific delegates gathered in Auckland, New Zealand today for the Global Environment Facility’s Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Development in Small Island Developing States (ISLANDS) Pacific...

Pacific preparations for INC-4 provides common understanding on key issues ahead of Ottawa

16 February 2024, Auckland NZ - Fourteen Pacific countries have taken a step closer to finalise their preparations, with a common understanding of key issues, for the next round of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an...

World First: TMC and PAMCO Achieve a New Nodule Processing Milestone, Unlocking Critical Energy & Steelmaking Materials at Existing Facilities

TMC and PAMCO have successfully demonstrated the production flowsheet for its initial commercial production using a 2,000-tonne sample of nodules collected during TMC subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc.’s 2022 test mining, at PAMCO’s commercial...

Vanuatu as PSIDS Chair rallies Pacific nations in ongoing INC process for a Cleaner Pacific

13 February 2024, Auckland NZ - The Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) are small in numbers but it continues to punch well above its weight in its commitment and dedication to ending plastic pollution. The point was made by the...

Young negotiators laud experience shared at Pacific negotiations training

12 February 2024, Auckland NZ - As a young Pacific woman, Ms Darla Yatilman, of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has high aspirations to help her country address one of the most pressing issues of modern time, the plastic pollution crisis....

Magnifying Pacific issues in a global declaration on waste

16 May 2024 - Pacific voices were given the lens to magnify their concerns when it comes to waste management on the global stage. Over a two-day period, Pacific Islands have undergone consultations for their input into the Pre-Zero Draft...

Pacific countries go back to the drawing board ahead of next round of plastics treaty negotiations

5 February 2024, Apia Samoa – Fourteen Pacific countries advocating for the priorities of their communities at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including...

China Dominates 44% of Visible Fishing Activity Worldwide

Washington, D.C., June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, on the International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, Oceana released an analysis of China’s global fishing* activity worldwide between 2022 and...

Solomon Islands committed to deliver a ‘Safe and Green Pacific Games’

06 September 2023, Apia Samoa - The rich tapestry of cultures found within the Solomon Islands was on display during the opening day of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) officials meeting as Solomon Island...

Nation-wide consultations continue as Solomon Islands moves closer to banning single-use plastics

Solomon Islands will soon become the latest Pacific Island country to enforce a ban on single-use plastics in its efforts to address the plastic pollution crisis. A series of national consultations have been ongoing to inform, engage and receive...

Small Islands, Big Dreams: Children and Youth for Small Islands Developing States Resilience

26 May 2024, Antigua and Barbuda - The echo of young people from across Small Islands Developing States will resonate at the Fourth International Conference to start in Antigua and Barbuda tomorrow. Approximately 60 Children and youth between the...

Democracy, Human Rights, Refugees: Republic of Kiribati's Independence Day

Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC July 11, 2011 On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of the Republic of Kiribati as you celebrate...

Pacific delegates spearhead crucial discussions on greenhouse gas reduction

14 July 2023, London – Pacific delegates played a crucial role in discussions at the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) talks on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies, aimed to make a significant impact on combating climate change and...

Cook Islands joins plastic treaty proposal for chemicals of concern

26 April 29024, Ottawa Canada - The Cook Islands, a large ocean island state is making her mighty voice heard at the Plastics Treaty negotiations now underway. The island nation, with Rwanda, has co-sponsored a proposal by Norway on how to address...

Solomon Islands calls on the global community to address the gaps regarding chemicals of concern in the plastic treaty

Addressing the gap between the few chemicals in plastics that are regulated globally and the growing number of chemicals of concern that are known to be used in plastics but are not identified for listing either for elimination, avoidance and...

SPREP signs memorandum with EIA and CIEL at INC-3

19 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and the Centre for International Environmental...

Week of intense plastic treaty negotiations in Nairobi ends with a way forward

20 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - Pacific delegates who attended the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment...