Building more resilient communities in the Pacific

Today I announce the Australian Government will contribute to the Climate Risk Early Warning System (CREWS) initiative to help protect lives, livelihoods and property in least-developed countries.

The $5 million investment forms part of the Australian Government's $1 billion commitment to build climate and natural disaster resilience and reduce emissions over five years and comes ahead of my attendance at the Paris Climate Change Conference next week.

CREWS is a French-led initiative that will use information from existing regional systems to communicate early warnings about hazard events, such as floods and cyclones.

Early warning systems and assessments represent one of the most effective investments to reduce the risk of natural disasters. They also form an important part of Australia's support to mitigate the impacts of disasters in the Pacific. Our support to CREWS is consistent with the priorities agreed at the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers' Meeting I hosted in July this year.

The Australian Government also strongly supports local meteorological services and community disaster planning for enhanced early warning capacity in the Pacific.

Australian scientists are working with Pacific countries to track climate trends, provide regional and country-specific climate projections, and improve understanding of ocean acidification and sea level rises. This helps the region become more resilient to severe weather events and natural disasters.