Leota Kosi Latu

Leota Namulauulu Lalomanu Kosi Latu is a Samoan lawyer and diplomat who served as Director-General of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme from 2016 to 2022. He is the brother of rugby player and lawyer George Latu.[1]

Leota Kosi Latu
Director-General of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
In office
January 2016 – 3 April 2022
DeputyEaster Chu Sing
Preceded byDavid Sheppard
Succeeded bySefanaia Nawadra

Latu was educated at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.[2] He worked as a prosecutor for the Samoan Attorney General's Office before moving to London to work as a lawyer for the Commonwealth Secretariat.[3] From 2006 to 2008 he worked for the United Nations Office for Project Services alongside the Pacific Islands Forum secretariat in Suva, Fiji.[2]

In 2008 he was appointed Deputy Director-General of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.[4] In September 2015 he was selected as its Director-General.[3] From the beginning of his term as Director he was a strong voice on climate change, urging Pacific nations to speak up[5] and demanding rich nations show greater ambition in reducing emissions.[6] At the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Katowice he urged countries to hold temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.[7] In 2019, he opened the Pacific Climate Change Centre in Apia, Samoa, to serve as a regional research center on the issue.[8][9] Other issues he focused on included nuclear waste shipments[10] and waste dumping by fishing boats.[11]

His term as Director-General ended on 3 April 2022. He was replaced by Sefanaia Nawadra.[12][4]

References
  1. Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop (1998). Tamaitai Samoa: Their stories. Suva: University of the South Pacific. p. 140.
  2. "Mr. Kosi Latu". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  3. "New Director-General of SPREP, Mr. Kosi Latu". SPREP. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. Adel Fruean (1 April 2022). "SPREP pays tribute as Director General bows out". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. "Even louder regional voice needed in international arena". RNZ. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  6. "SPREP head calls for more ambition at COP23". RNZ. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  7. "Pacific fighting for 1.5 degrees at COP24". RNZ. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  8. "The Pacific Climate Change Centre Is Officially Open!". Reliefweb. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  9. Sapeer Mayron (4 September 2019). "Climate Change Centre will bring experts, professionals to Samoa". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  10. "Nuke waste shipments in Pacific a worry for SPREP". RNZ. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  11. "Call for curb on waste dumping by Pacific fishing fleets". RNZ. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  12. "Sefanaia Nawadra – New Director General For SPREP". Fiji Sun. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.


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