Climate change and sustainable development in the Pacific: the EU’s contributions 2000-2017, with a case study on the Cook Islands

Abstract

My thesis is going to mainly discuss climate change, sustainable development and the European Union’s climate change policies within the Pacific region, it will use the Cook Islands as a case study. The context for this thesis is that climate change is beginning to happen and the Pacific will suffer more than any other region. Most of the Pacific Nations do not have the resources to mitigate the effects of climate change, so they will require help from other actors. Any project that is going on in the world should have the aim of achieving sustainable development so that future generations will not be put at risk with what current populations are doing. Climate change will also alter migration patterns in the Pacific and if nothing is done now then there is the chance that there will be climate refugees. I will be using the Bellagio Principles to determine how effective the EU’s climate change policies are in the Pacific in terms of mitigating the effects of climate change and to see if they help increase the rate of sustainable development within the region. The Cook Islands was chosen as a case study because out of all the Pacific Nations they use the most fossil fuels and I am part Cook Island Maori so this area is of interest to me. New Zealand also plays a role in the Pacific and has commit to helping Pacific Nations increase their standings on fighting climate change, in some climate change projects the EU and NZ have collaborated.