Climate change is one of the greatest barriers to sustainable development for small island countries, a Fijian official said Wednesday.

Esala Nayasi, director of the political and treaties division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the adverse effects of climate change is a security threat to Pacific island countries ( PICs) as it greatly affects the survival of people through the impact it has on resources.

Speaking at the "First Open Discussion Workshop about Climate Engineering: Perspectives of Pacific Small Island States" held in Suva on Wednesday, Nayasi highlighted the need for research, scientific studies, data and even climate engineering in addressing the impact it will have on these nations.

"As PICs, it is incumbent on us to endeavor to advance our interest within the international community and we need science, we need research, we need data and we need climate change engineering," the Ministry of Information quoted Nayasi as saying.

According to Nayasi, Fiji has long recognized that individually it cannot achieve change but need to use collective strength to persuade communities on the absolute imperative for action on climate change.

The workshop is a joint effort of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies and the University of the South Pacific's Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development, where experts from both institutions would share their findings with the participants over the three-day meet.

The meeting, attended by 12 PICs, is looking at progress, research and data on climate engineering as a mode of addressing climate change.

Climate engineering, a term that has been around since the 1990 's, is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth's climatic system with the aim of reducing global warming.

Nayasi said through its annual National Climate Change Summit, which had its second meet in Nadi town last week, Fiji is mapping out a comprehensive plan of action to address climate change through clear time bound and detailed implementation strategy. Endi

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