16th August, 2019 The Minister for MEIDECC Hon Poasi Mataele Tei officially launched Tonga’s Third National Communication (TNC) Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) this morning during the National Climate Change Awareness Week Exhibition Day at the Queen Salote Memorial Hall.
A national communication is a report that each Party to the UNFCCC prepares periodically according to the guidelines developed and adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP). A national communication is therefore a commitment of each Party, in accordance with Article 12, paragraph 1 of the Convention.
Tonga becomes the first Pacific Island country to submit a TNC report, with the Initial National Communication and Second National Communication submitted in May 2005 and March 2012, respectively.
At the launch, Hon. Tei said, “This milestone for Tonga not only fulfils our obligations as party to the UNFCCC but it is also a very useful source of information for planning, developing of project proposals, securing of resources and for educational purposes.”
Ms. Lu’isa Tu’i’afitu Malolo, MEIDECC’s Director of Climate Change acknowledged the invaluable contributions from the Joint National Action Plan on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (JNAP) Taskforce, local technical experts and various stakeholders, towards the TNC report. Additionally, Ms. Malolo expressed gratitude for the continuous support and assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as the TNC Project’s Implementing Agency.
The TNC report was developed by the Third National Communication or TNC Project under the National Communication Division at the Department of Climate Change.
ENDS
Issued by the: Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change & Communications.