Last-minute negotiations are taking place in Dubai at the UN's climate conference, as representatives from nearly 200 nations try to agree on the future of oil, gas and coal. A draft deal stopped short of calling for the phasing out of the use of fossil fuels - a position that countries including Australia, the US and the UK would not back. Pacific Island states said the draft deal would be their death certificate. It's hoped an agreement can be reached in the final hours before the summit ends. [Source: ABC]

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Pope Francis, in Fratelli Tutti, speaks of the need for an open heart. He writes, ‘the guarantee of an authentic openness to God….is a way of practicing the faith that helps open our hearts to our brothers and sisters.’ It the key for building peace in our world. Francis has tried to address breakdowns in human relationships which lead to violence and a culture of indifference by calling for a culture of encounter. It is a call to develop a culture of kindness especially in the face of divisions made evidenced by hateful language, mean-spiritedness, prejudice, and neglect.

Dame Meg Taylor DBE, former Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum and current member of the Pacific Elders' Voice, is a Papua New Guinean lawyer and diplomat. She was the PNG Ambassador to the US, Mexico and Canada from 1989 to 1994. In 2014, Dame Meg was appointed Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, a position which she held until 2021. There are few Pacific Islander leaders better placed than Dame Meg to talk about the challenges and opportunities facing the region. We are honoured that Dame Meg spent some time at the Centre with us and had a conversation on emerging priorities in the Pacific.