Focusing on AI and climate change during the Commonwealth’s October meeting in Samoa

The secretary general of the Commonwealth stated that the main topics of discussion at the summit, which is scheduled for October on the tiny Pacific island of Samoa, would be climate change and attempts to stay up-to-date with advancements in artificial intelligence. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 countries led by King Charles that grew out of the British Empire and now numbers 2.5 billion people, including 11 Pacific nations.

Patricia Scotland said, “This is not a threat about extinction tomorrow, many of them are thinking, it is extinction today,” in reference to the threats posed by climate change that put tiny Pacific countries at particular risk. Speaking from the capital of Samoa, Apia, she said, “If we look at what’s happened in countries like Vanuatu and Nauru and all of them, they see this rise in sea level and the rise in temperature as an imminent threat.”

With a population of around 218,000, Samoa is set to become the first tiny island state in the Pacific to host the annual Commonwealth Heads of Government conference, therefore drawing attention to climate change. According to the administration of the island, Scotland is spending a week in Samoa discussing logistics for the summit, such as locations, security, and telecoms.

According to Scotland, the organization aimed to place climate finance consultants in member countries to increase attempts to raise money to address the effects of climate change. The digitalization of the world economy and artificial intelligence are more debate points.

“If the small and developing states are left behind, then their opportunity to take advantage of that huge potential increase in development and opportunity is going to be gone,” she said. Plans for the Samoa summit, according to a Commonwealth official, play a role in King Charles’s participation. The monarch is scheduled to deliver his first address as president of the organization this month after skipping this month’s annual Commonwealth Day celebration to recuperate from illness treatment.