The Chair of the African, Carribean and Pacific Group Working Group on Climate Change has defended providing hundreds of plastic water bottles for delegates at a regional briefing in Vanuatu.
The 'Building resilience to climate change in the Pacific Islands' briefing in Port Vila focussed on vulnerabilities of the island countries as well as "green growth' opportunities.
The Chair of the Working Group, Gambia's Ambassador to the EU Mamou Alieu Jagne, says such briefings aim to reinforce the capacity of the Pacific islands region to mitigate and adapt to climate change challenges.
Asked whether the expenses and resources used to hold such a conference could be justified, Mamou Alieu Jagne said it required an holistic view.
"In other words, the outputs of anything must be greater than the inputs, so in the process there may be one or two adverse affects but that should be more than compensated for by the outcome of such meetings."
