Sustainable alliances highlighted at G3 Steering Committee meeting
At the Guam Green Growth (G3) steering committee meeting in October, members discussed the strategic alliances and opportunities that the multi-agency committee could pursue in the near future, including a regional commitment to address climate change and other issues across the Pacific.
One of these regional commitments, the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific, was recently adopted by the Pacific Islands Forum, an inter-government organization formed by nations and territories across the region.
Back in 2019, forum leaders endorsed the development of the 2050 strategy as a long-term solution to address the enduring challenges in the Blue Pacific continent.
Guam supports the strategy, according to Lt. Governor Josh Tenorio, G3 steering committee co-chairperson, adding that the activities in the G3 Action Framework complement the regional blueprint.
“All the work that we are doing really falls within this area. There is a big effort to really establish a positive regional framework and confront what everybody calls the existential crisis of climate change. That really is the top threat to the entire Pacific,” he said.
As part of the 2050 strategy, forum leaders developed ten commitments to strengthen collective action and deepen regional collaboration. The strategy contains seven interconnected thematic areas to support these commitments, namely:
- Political leadership and regionalism
- People-centered development
- Peace and security
- Resource and economic development
- Climate change and disasters
- Ocean and environment
- Technology and connectivity
Like the G3 Action Framework, the thematic areas of the 2050 strategy are based on a set of comprehensive, integrated criteria. Austin Shelton, Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant director, said the strategy would be part of the agenda in the upcoming G3 biannual meeting.
Shelton, who co-chairs the G3 steering committee, also reported on the most recent offshore engagements of the committee members. UOG President and G3 co-president Thomas Krise and Shelton participated in a Local 2030 Islands Network meeting at the Climate Week Summit in New York, which coincides with the UN General Assembly.
At the meeting, Shelton spoke with the leaders about the impact of the G3 initiatives on the island. “We had the opportunity to speak with these leaders about the work that we’re doing in Guam, particularly our Guam Green Growth implementation projects like our circular economy and Makerspace and Innovation Hub, our G3 Community Gardens. We are making a local impact to be part of this global change towards a sustainable future.”
Guam is a founding member of the Local 2030 Islands Network. As a United Nations hub, the network focuses on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in local and culturally effective ways.