Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Home News Climate change, AI in focus at Commonwealth’s Oct meet in Samoa
News

Climate change, AI in focus at Commonwealth’s Oct meet in Samoa

51
Flags representing Commonwealth countries fly at the Kigali Convention Centre, the venue hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/ File Photo. A Commonwealth meeting is set for the Pacific Islands nation of Samoa in October, where Climate change and efforts to keep up with advances in artificial intelligence will top the agenda.

SYDNEY – Climate change and efforts to keep up with advances in artificial intelligence top the agenda for a Commonwealth meeting set for the small Pacific Islands nation of Samoa in October, the grouping’s secretary general said.

The Commonwealth, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, is a voluntary club of 56 nations headed by King Charles, having evolved out of the British empire and spanning 2.5 billion people, with 11 Pacific nations among its members.

“This is not a threat about extinction tomorrow, many of them are thinking, it is extinction today,” Patricia Scotland said of the climate change risks that make small Pacific nations particularly vulnerable.

“If we look at what’s happened in countries like Vanuatu and Nauru and all of them, they see this rise in sea level and the rise in temperature as an imminent threat,” she said, speaking from the Samoan capital of Apia.

Samoa, with a population of about 218,000, will be the first Pacific small island state to host the annual Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, putting the spotlight on climate change.

Scotland is visiting Samoa for a week to discuss arrangements for the meeting, ranging from venues to security and telecommunications, the island’s government said.

The grouping wanted to put climate finance advisers in member nations to boost fund-raising efforts to tackle the fallout of climate change, Scotland said.

Other topics for discussion are artificial intelligence and digitalisation of the global economy.

“If the small and developing states are left behind, then their opportunity to take advantage of that huge potential increase in development and opportunity is going to be gone,” she added.

A Commonwealth spokesman said plans for the Samoa summit factor in the attendance of King Charles, set to give his first speech as head of the grouping after missing this month’s annual Commonwealth Day event to recover from cancer treatment.

(Reporting by Cordelia Hsu; Writing by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Related Articles

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is seen outside Google Bay View facilities during the Made by Google event in Mountain View, California, U.S. August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
BusinessElectricityEmissions

Google invests in Intersect Power in over $800 million funding round amid AI race

Google joins others in backing Intersect Power in a $800M+ clean energy...

A view of new cars parked in the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, October 24, 2024. REUTERS/Bart Biesemans/ File Photo
AutomotiveBiofuelsElectric Vehicles (EVs)EmissionsPolitics

EU’s largest political group pushes to weaken combustion engine ban

The European People's Party is campaigning to weaken the EU's key policies...

An image of the Shell logo on a signpost.
EnvironmentLegislationNatural GasOil

Shell and Greenpeace settle legal action over ship protest

Shell and Greenpeace settle a High Court case after activists boarded a...

The Supreme Court is pictured, in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo
EnvironmentInfrastructureLegislationOilRail

US Supreme Court examines Utah railway in environmental review fight

The project involves an 88-mile railway in northeastern Utah for transporting waxy...

Login into your Account

Please login to like, dislike or bookmark this article.