UNITED Nations resident co-ordinator and UN Development Programme resident rep Nileema Noble says Pacific youths are catalysts for transformational change on climate change issues.
They can take advantage of the considerable opportunities for youth-led responses to climate change, such as green employment opportunities arising in the agriculture, manufacturing, industry and transportation sectors, she said.
Ms Noble made the comment during the Pacific regional launch in Apia of the 2012 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Asia-Pacific Human Development Report One Planet to Share: Sustaining Human Progress in a Changing Climate.
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Lupesoliai Malielegaoi also spoke at the launch of the report which is part of UNDPs contributions to the Rio+20 process.
We are required to do what has not been done before: sustain growth that is inclusive and lift people out of poverty in a time of profound climate change.
It is in the regions own interest to address climate change and do development differently, he said.
Action to address climate change means better health, cleaner air, less pollution, a healthier natural environment, pleasanter surroundings - which improve the quality of life and save costs.
The launch was followed by a panel discussion on the report and its findings.
Some of the reports key messages for the region include the need for the better management of emissions becoming an inherent part of adapting and building resilience to climate change, the need to embed development responses to climate change in poverty and inequality reduction.