Trouble in Paradise: Climate Change in the Pacific

A collection of photographs that illustrate the stark reality of climate change for the people of the Pacific.

A pink bungalow is reflected in the huge puddle of water in front of it
Maxim Va'a, Samoa (c) British High Commission

Trouble in Paradise: Climate Change in the Pacific challenges us to reconsider the Pacific as an alliance of Large Ocean Nations with a vital role in addressing global climate change. 

Climate change has reached code red for humanity, and the Pacific islands are among the most vulnerable to its effects. In the Pacific, the destruction is already happening. As the oceans become warmer, sea levels rise and tropical storms become more fierce and frequent, coral and other marine life are dying, and crops are lost. Island communities face economic hardship, but that is not all: climate change poses a threat to their very existence – already the sea is claiming the land.

In the lead-up to the COP26 climate change summit, the UK Government invited people from across the Pacific to document the everyday impacts of climate change in their region. These photographs are the winning entries of the UK’s Pacific Climate Photography Competition. The images highlight the resilience of the people, while also offering hope for the future in their determination to leave the environment in a better state for the next generation.

This project was curated by the British Council New Zealand and the Pacific, with support from the British High Commission in Wellington.

See highlights from the exhibition and hear from the Right Honourable Baroness Patricia Scotland, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, in this video.

Trouble in Paradise online gallery

You can view a small selection of the prize-winning images from photographers in Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa/New Zealand below. Explore all the winning photographs in the online exhibition.

Explore the gallery
Six young women in colourful traditional dress stand in the sea, hand in hand
Faaiuga Vaialia Samoa/New Zealand ‘Young women of the islands.’ (c) British High Commission
A blue sea star fish against a coral mound under the sea
Dan Shipp, Fiji. ‘This blue sea star is extremely sensitive to changes in water temperature, oxygen levels and acidity, all of which are key indicators of the health of our marine environment.' (c) British High Commission
A lone mangrove root under the water rises above the sea surface against a blue sky
Dan Shipp, Fiji. ‘This lone mangrove root in Savusavu growing up through the water and into the air symbolises the critical relationship between the health of our oceans and the health of our climate.’ (c) British High Commission
A young woman laughs as she leans back on a bed of green plants
Patrick Steven, Vanuatu ‘Protect and sustain our resources.’ (c) British High Commission
A man stands in a small wooden boat looking at his home, devastated by a tropical cyclone
Jovesa Naisua, Fiji. ‘Niko Vulaca looks at the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Yas on Kia Island.' (c) British High Commission

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