Friends of Tonga Recognition: Friends of Tonga has been named a finalist in the 2026 .ORG Impact Awards (Environmental Stewardship), highlighting community-led work across Tonga including climate resilience, rainwater cisterns, cyclone-resistant education support, and efforts to cut plastic pollution. SPREP Environment Priorities: SPREP’s 5th Executive Board Meeting is underway in Samoa, with the agency stressing the “triple planetary crises” links—climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution—and reaffirming its work on environmental leadership, equity and funding priorities. Regional Climate Push: Pacific Forum foreign ministers backed stronger climate action ahead of COP31, calling for more climate finance, renewable energy investment, and Pacific leadership through Pre-COP31 meetings. Gender & Climate Finance: Ministers also urged sustainable financing for gender-based violence prevention, including using climate and green finance to strengthen resilience and gender-responsive planning. Tonga Drug Response: King Tupou VI called for an urgent, integrated national response to illicit drugs, including education, rehabilitation facilities and stronger border control. Marine Protection & EEZ Security: Samoa is pushing for stronger fish stock monitoring and EEZ security at WCPFC, coordinating operations with Tonga and others to tackle illegal fishing and related trafficking. Geohazards & Early Warning: Solomon Islands’ minister opened regional geohazard and tsunami warning meetings, citing recent Tonga and Vanuatu events as reminders that monitoring and preparedness save lives. Deep-Sea Mining Rules: The UN’s International Seabed Authority extended a controversial deep-sea mining exploration contract for TMC, while again failing to finalise commercial mining rules. UN Youth & AI: A UN summit in New York brought together 600 young people to shape AI policy for the Sustainable Development Goals.