Not-for-profit organisations (NGOs) has urged the Australian government to increase its climate change aid to Pacific nations, calling it a “moral responsibility.”
At a parliamentary inquiry on Sept. 2, Luke Fletcher, the CEO of Jubilee Australia–a think tank that researches economic justice in the Asia-Pacific, said Australia had not done enough to help other countries affected by climate change.
Pointing to Australia’s position as the third largest fossil fuel exporter, the CEO said it had an obligation to provide more financial support.
“Pacific peoples have constantly declared climate change is the biggest threat facing their communities,” he said.
“As a leading climate polluter, Australia has a moral responsibility to provide this financial support.”
Michelle Higelin, an executive director of the women’s rights organisation, ActionAid Australia, said the gaps in climate funding was growing.
“Between 2014 and 2019, an average of US$550 million ($738 million) per year was provided to the region for adaptation and mitigation responses,” she said.
“But the International Monetary Fund estimates that the Pacific needs US$1 billion per year just for adaptation responses, with the cost of rebuilding from climate disasters and the energy transition.”
While Higelin acknowledged that Australia was the biggest climate finance provider in the Pacific region, she said the country only contributed 15 percent of its “fair share” of international climate finance.
According to Higelin, Australia needs to up this figure to around $4 billion each year towards the US$100 billion international climate finance goal.
Meanwhile, Fletcher noted that Pacific nations currently had a high level of debt and could fall into a “debt crisis.”
“Modelling by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) shows the Pacific debt levels, [which are] already high in many states, will grow much worse if Australia and others in the donor community choose to rely on loans, for example, through the multilateral development banks to deliver the needed climate finance,” he said.
UNICEF Says Climate Change Aid Needs to Focus on Children
Nicole Breeze, the chief advocate for children at UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) Australia, said there was a need for the country to centre its aid on children.Breeze explained that children and young people could be marginalised and overlooked in Australia’s engagement in the region despite accounting for a large proportion of the population.
“Children under the age of 18 make up 40 percent of the population collectively of Pacific island nations,” she said.
“If we also consider young people under 24, it’s 54 percent.”
At the same time, the chief advocate said children were heavily impacted by the “climate crisis.”
Countries Already Meeting Climate Funding Goal
Yet the push from NGOs comes despite an OECD report revealing that financial aid provided by developed countries had already exceeded the US$100 billion target.The OECD said this was the largest year-on-year increase on record and resulted in the target being reached one year ahead of schedule.
Among the contributions, taxpayer funds continue to make up the bulk of climate finance (80 percent).
Meanwhile, there was also a 52 percent surge in mobilised private finance, taking the amount to $21.9 billion in 2022.
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann encouraged member countries to maintain their contribution and implement policies to boost private climate finance.
