www.dlapiper.com       THE LAW OF CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN THE PACIFIC - FIJI The impacts of climate change are already being felt in Fiji. Climate change has brought an increase in the frequency of extreme events such as flooding, droughts and cyclones as well as increasing sea level rise and its associated impacts. Up until recently there were no cohesive institutional frameworks in respect to climate change present in Fiji. The introduction of Fiji’s National Climate Change Policy in early 2012 has helped to solidify the importance of climate change at the national level and has helped to mainstream the issue of climate change at different levels of the government and society. At present there is no climate change legislation in Fiji, however the initial steps to the formulation of climate change legislation has begun in earnest with submissions to the Cabinet already been made. The importance of the introduction of Fiji’s National Climate Change Policy cannot be overstated. The policy provides a clearly defined position for the government and other stakeholders on issues of climate change, climate variability and sea level rise. Furthermore the policy provides for coordination among stakeholders and direction on national positions and priorities regarding climate change mitigation and adaptation. This policy also supports Fiji’s International obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as well as other relevant conventions and treaties. Prior to its introduction, coordinating and effectively administrating matters pertaining to the issue of climate change was difficult and slow. Now however this policy provides a platform for addressing the issue of climate change and facilitating the resulting adaptation and mitigation strategies that need to be taken. The governmental agency responsible for climate change issues in Fiji is the Climate Change Unit, which falls under the arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Climate Change Unit liaises with the relevant government agencies and stakeholders in order to implement climate change measures such as planning, mitigation and adaptation tools within the various facets of the government and community. The Climate Change Unit is also responsible for heading the Fiji delegation in international climate change negotiations.