This morning United Nations General Secretary Antonio Gutteres, currently in Tonga for this year's Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, presented new research showing that ocean temperatures in the Pacific are rising at 3 times the rate worldwide. This contributes to increased sea level rise, which in turn could result in some islands becoming uninhabitable within the next decade. Without cuts to global emissions, Mr Gutteres said, the Pacific Islands can expect additional sea level rise of 15 cm by 2050 and 30 days a year of coastal flooding. Mr Gutteres has called for global leaders to phase out fossil fuels and "massively boost climate adaptation investments" in vulnerable countries.

We congratulate Independent Federal MP Kylea Tink for introducing a bill in parliament last Monday to limit the detention of asylum seekers to 90 days, among other crucial changes to the current approach to refugees and asylum seekers, in Australia. The ERC strongly supports this bill - click here to read more about it.

This report brings together the voices, experiences and demands of civil society from across the Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand. It has been endorsed by the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network and 55 organisations and networks across seven countries, including the Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education. The report presents a comprehensive vision for a new climate finance goal that delivers for the most vulnerable communities, and that sets the world on track to scale up climate action, phase out fossil fuels and transition to a cleaner, greener and more just future for all.

Click here to download the report.