Today is the start of the two-day U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit, where President Biden welcomed to the White House representatives from the governments of Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
In a joint statement, participants recognized the climate emergency facing Pacific nations, reaffirmed the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and called for international financial support for meaningful mitigation action.
To kick off the summit, President Biden announced plans to administer $200 million to finance climate-resilient infrastructure and recovery in the Pacific. This year's summit also marked the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the Cook Islands and Niue.
To learn more, read the White House statement here.
