One of the great activities of the CPA Small Branches network is the annual CPA Small Branches Workshop. This year, the CPA Small Branches Workshop on Legislative Leadership for Environmental Resilience in Small Jurisdictions, was held from 23 to 25 July 2024, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from more than ten Parliaments attended the three-day workshop which included expert speakers and panel members from local and global environmental organisations. The three days were filled with lively conversation amongst the participants, active roundtables and discussion, and presentations from a series of experts.
We know that Parliamentarians play a multifaceted role in representing small jurisdictions through engagement with local communities as representatives, crafting laws as legislators and in holding governments accountable to commitments as scrutineers. It is therefore essential that we are equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills to devise effective environmental resilience strategies and foster connections with the wider policy and research community.The workshop kicked off with a session entitled ‘What is Environmental Resilience and Why is it Important’. This session set the scene for participants on the characteristics of environmental resilience from a climate change, disaster risk reduction and sustainable energy transitions perspective. Participants had the benefits of hearing from experts in their fields on environmental resilience and the important role played by Parliamentarians in actively achieving change. Sessions that followed enabled participants to consider how and when Parliamentarians can intervene in the parliamentary cycle to shape change around environmental resilience and to use Parliaments to maximise benefits to communities. To achieve impactful and lasting change, Parliamentarians need to consider what their goals and objectives around environmental resilience could be.
One of the greatest challenges for small jurisdictions and achieving sustainable change is in the effective implementation of laws. The session on ‘Implementation of Sustainable Environmental Legislation’ considered how Parliamentarians can ensure there is accountability and oversight of legislation to achieve lasting change. In addition to legalisation, workshops covered the international landscape around international agreements, commitments and standards; particularly those centred around COP meetings. To round off the above sessions around planning and implementing laws, the next session explored strategies for accessing and leveraging climate finance effectively. Experts provided insights into the global climate finance environment and how Parliamentarians can source funding and ensure effective application by governments.
All participants enjoyed and and were inspired by the words shared by Naima Te Maile Fifita, Executive Director, Institute for Climate and Peace, about the role youth play in activism and policy change. For participants, it was not just sitting and learning through dialogue, rather, we had the opportunity to participate in a field trip to see firsthand the work of Juli Burden, who is the Agrivoltaics Systems Lead at the Hawai’i Agriculture Research Centre at the Mililani Solar Project. This project combines Agriculture and Photovoltaics (for example, solar panels) on the same land and gave an opportunity for participants to see a solar farm which is integrated into an agricultural site/farm. At the conclusion of the workshop all participants agreed to the following statement and outcomes.
The CPA Small Branches Workshop participants recognise the threat and impact of climate change and recognise the valuable contribution and expert knowledge the panellists and experts have shared.
Key messages from the CPA Small Branches Workshop are:
- Parliaments need to be the centre of change
- Consideration of the ‘circular economy’ and the potential tensions between sustainable development and economic growth
- The value of knowledge exchange and best practice approaches of other CPA Small Branches
- Recognition of the importance of listening to, and empowering, youth
- The importance of constitutional change
- To harness the resources and expert knowledge from the
Workshop when returning to your parliamentary role.
Recommendations:
- Share your knowledge and learnings with your Parliament
- Consider a ‘Youth Parliament’ or other similar outreach activity to engage the youth on climate change
- Consider drafting and promoting climate protection action plans for your institution
- Develop links and partnerships with supportive stakeholders such as the Blue Planet Alliance
- Consider a Committee enquiry to explore the potential opportunities of agrivoltaics
- Ensure the outcomes and outputs of this Workshop are reflected in the 2025 CPA Small Branches workplan.
Hon. Emani Fakaotimanava-Lui, an elected Member of the Niue Parliament, participated in this year’s workshop. Niue is a single island that is a raised coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The land area is 259 square kilometres (100 square miles) and the highest point above sea level is 65 metres. As such Niue is well aware of the impact of climate change and the need to consider environmental resilience.

This article was written by Joy Burch, Chairperson of the CPA Small Branches, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory. It was first published in pages 212-213 of ‘The Parliamentarian,’ 2024: Issue 3.
“As a newly elected Member of Parliament on Niue, this was my first CPA event and I found it very informative with some important key take aways such as Green Banks, Agrivoltaics, Blue Planet Alliance, as well as the Container Deposit Scheme. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the presentations of what is being done in Hawai’i to mitigate climate change by setting foreseeable goals with achievable timelines. The exciting part is that other states and small island nations can also see the vision coupled with the determination to also take action themselves. Although we’re small, but with concerted effort, we demonstrate our love for our environment and wish for it to be accessible to our children and future generations. It was also great to hear and learn of how some senior Parliamentarians have navigated themselves during their time as legislators. My personal highlight was meeting other participants and sharing stories from each of our own jurisdictions. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Legislative Office on Niue including the CPA team with their tireless efforts in organising such a well thought out Workshop. Kia Monuina”
The CPA Small, Branches Workshop was not only successful in terms of imparting and enriching participant knowledge and understanding, but also forging meaningful commitments and friendships. Finally, I would like to put on record my thanks to all those who came and shared with us their knowledge and expertise.