Reacting to the inadequate Australian funding commitments at Pre-COP in the Pacific this week, Oxfam Australia’s Chief Executive, Jennifer Tierney said:
“For Australian leaders to leave Pre-COP without a single substantial funding pledge is irresponsible, and falls short of the bold leadership it promised.
“The projects announced this week do not represent new climate finance. Repackaging previously committed funding as new announcements is simply not good enough. What Pacific communities need is genuine additional finance that reflects the scale and urgency of the climate crisis they are dealing with- losing homes, livelihoods and lives as disasters worsen.
“Australia spends ten times more on fossil fuels subsidies than it does supporting its neighbours to act on climate change. We cannot claim to be a responsible regional partner while continuing to prioritise support for coal oil and gas over adequate climate finance.
“Oxfam Australia is urging the Government not to squander its remaining opportunity as President of COP31 in Turkiye. It must commit $11 billion in climate finance over the next five years to fund the futures of people whose lives depend on climate action, rather than continuing to line the pockets of big polluting companies. We must demonstrate real solidarity with our Pacific neighbours, by putting money on the table and taking responsibility for our share of the climate crisis.”
Eunice Wotene, Executive Director of Oxfam in the Pacific said:
“Our hope for hosting pre-COP in the Pacific was that leaders of historically polluting countries would see for themselves the losses and damages that we are grappling with, and take decisive action.
“Leaders who visited Tuvalu and Fiji this week cannot refute the impacts of the climate crisis in the Pacific. They know that we are all in the same storm, but we’re not in the same boat. Many Pacific communities do not have the resources or tools to weather that storm, despite contributing very little to its creation.”
"We urge leaders to take these observations onward to COP31 to ensure the richest countries, corporations and individuals are held accountable for their disproportionate role in the climate crisis.
“While leaders are letting coal, oil and gas corporations off the hook for their pollution, small island communities lose their lives, homes and futures.”
For more information and interviews in Fiji or Australia contact Amber Ahmad 0468802634 / [email protected]
Notes to Editor
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The $7.29 million announced to strengthen Pacific energy security comes from the already committed $50 million Australia-Pacific Partnership for Energy Transition.
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Australia has allocated no new funding to the Pacific Resilience Facility, when supporting the fund was presented as a key part of Australia’s bid to host COP31.
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The $3 million commitment to Tuvalu for strengthening roads in storm serge areas also came from a pre-existing fund.
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This years’ Australian budget spent $16.3 billion on fossil fuel industry subsidies, compared with just $1.4 billion in climate funding for low-income countries.
