Canberra offers climate funding to Pacific islands

AUSTRALIA announced a A$500 million ($340 million) climate change package for Pacific countries on Tuesday but received a lukewarm response from low-lying island nations demanding urgent action from their powerful neighbour to curb its carbon emissions.

Pr i me Minister Scot t Morr ison said the funding, drawn from Aust ra l ia’s ex ist i ng i nter nat iona l a id budget, would help Paci f ic isla nd nations invest in renewable energ y and climate change resilience.

The climate-sceptic leader made the announcement before travelling to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu, where island nations threatened by rising seas have vowed to put globa l warming at the top of the agenda.

Smaller members of the 18-nation grouping have been sharply critica l of Australia’s climate policies ahead of this year’s summit amid a diplomatic push from Canberra to counter China’s g row i ng power i n t he region.

High-level representatives from the likes of Tuvalu, Palau and Vanuatu have criticised Australia for not doing enough, with Fiji’s Frank Bainimarama saying Canberra’s reliance on coal poses an “existential threat” to low-lying islands.

There has also been disquiet in the Pacif i c t hat Australi a r ecently approved the giant Adani coal mine in Queensland state.

Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga did not directly address islanders’ concerns.

“No matter how much money you put on the table it doesn’t give you the excuse not to do the right thing,” he told reporters in the tiny nation’s capital Funafuti, which is hosting the PIF meeting.

“[The right thing] is cutting down your emissions, including not opening your coal mines. That is the thing we want to see.”

‘Slap in the face’

Morrison has staunchly defended Australia’s climate record, insisting the country will meet its 2030 emissions reduction target set under the Paris Agreement.

“The $500 million we’re investing for the Pacific’s renewable energy and its climate change and disaster resilience builds on the $300 million for 2016-2020,” he said in a statement.

“This highlights our commitment to not just meeting our emissions reduction obligations at home but suppor t i ng ou r neig hbou r s a nd f r iends.”

Greenpeace said the package was nothing more than a diversion of funds from Australia’s Pacific aid programme and “a slap in the face to regional leaders”.

“This A$500 million accounting trick will do nothing to address the cause of the climate crisis that threatens the viability of the entire Pacific,” Greenpeace’s Pacific head Joseph Moeono-Kolio said in a statement.

Oxfam Australia welcomed funding for climate cha nge adapta ion but added “it is not a substitute for action at home to tack le the causes of t his crisis – t he burning of fossil f uels”.

Australia’s opposition Labor Party labelled Morrison’s package “cy nica l window dressing” ahead of the PIF summit.

“It will not repair Australia’s reputation wit h our Pacif ic neighbours that has been damaged by this gover nment’s react iona r y sta nce on cl i mate cha nge,” L abor cl i mate cha nge spokesma n Pat Con roy said.

The tussle over climate action comes as Australia attempts to reassert its influence in the Pacific through its “step-up” strategy, which some regional leaders have warned is likely to fail without meaningful climate action.

The PIF summit officia lly opened late on Tuesday and will continue until Thursday, with Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern due to arrive on Wednesday.