South Pacific leaders will meet on the stunning island of Aitutaki to discuss climate change

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — South Pacific leaders are heading to the stunning island of Aitutaki to discuss climate change and other regional concerns. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the leaders who traveled to the Cook Islands this week for the Pacific Islands Forum. The forum culminates in a leaders’ retreat Friday on Aitutaki, a beautiful island renowned for its picturesque lagoon. Albanese told reporters Australia had a positive reception in a region where climate change is an existential threat for low-lying islands. They leaders are also concerned about the release of treated radioactive wastewater from a nuclear power plant in Japan that was crippled by a 2011 tsunami.