Emmanuel Macron & James Marape

Macron is telling Pacific leaders that France understands the threat they face from a warming Earth, from rising seas swamping low-lying islands to a loss of wildlife, wilder weather and the financial costs they impose. …In Papua New Guinea, Macron walked two kilometres with Prime Minister James Marape through the lush Varirata National Park, touting a French initiative to remunerate countries that preserve their old-growth forests. To address this, a first so-called Forest, Climate, Biodiversity project was signed Friday with Papua New Guinea, to be managed by the French development agency with 60 million euros ($66 million) in financing from the European Union. Other non-governmental organisations are already aboard, French officials say, and they hope to get the private sector involved, too. The challenge is significant.