Group decries Australia continuous support to coal industry

Despite two very strong diplomatic declarations, the Nadi Bay Declaration on the Pacific Islands Climate Change Crisis and the  Tuvalu Declaration on Climate Change for the Survival of Pacific Small Islands Developing States, being made by Pacific Island states within two weeks of each other, the Australian government has turned a blind eye to its closest neighbours’ plea for an end to the coal industry.

Australia’s coal policy and its use of carry over credits to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement have come under fire and been major points of contention at this year’s 50th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Meeting in Tuvalu. Both Declarations strongly call for Australia to commit to urgent climate action, as the effects of the climate crisis become more apparent on a daily basis.

In response to Pacific Island states, who have considered Australia as the ‘big brother,’ Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that it will provide $500m over five years in climate resilience and adaptation funding for the region.

“Australia is supposed to be an ally for the Pacific, and their inaction in a time of dire need is appalling. This funding support is being marketed as a solution, but in fact is a diversion of funding that was already allocated for supporting the Pacific Island states.”  said Fenton Lutunatabua, 350 Pacific Managing Director in a statement on Thursday.

Australia’s ploy to use aid as a means of negotiating in the Pacific is failing, with Pacific Island leaders literally stating that they do not care about the money anymore.

The Prime Minister of Tuvalu and Chair of the Pacific Island Forum stated during the PIF Meeting on Tuesday that channeling aid money to the Pacific was in no way a compromise to open new coalmines and continue with unregulated emissions.

“Pacific Island leaders have stepped up their game significantly because for us it is a matter of survival and they have committed to holding industrialised, coal-producing nations to account. The appalling fact in all this is that Australia is granted a seat at the same PIF Meeting table as nations literally struggling to protect the lives and cultural integrity of their people. Australia bullies its way through negotiations, attempting to mask the gravity of the climate crisis on paper – when the visible proof in our lives shows otherwise.” Patricia Mallam, Senior Communications Specialist for the Pacific said.

Pacific Island leaders have paved the way for polluting countries to take more concrete steps towards recognizing that the climate crisis is real. The fact that Australia continues to disregard the science that proves this, and carry on with allowing the coal industry to prosper is a slap in the face of its family in the Pacific.

“We share the same part of the planet, in close proximity to each other, so taking action to save the Pacific pretty much means saving your own people. A person of authority in a position to make a difference, who compromises the wellbeing of their very own people is not worthy of being considered a leader,” Mallam said.

Across the Pacific, sterling examples of leadership ingrained in responding to the needs of the people have risen. The Marshall Islands became the first country in the world to update and strengthen its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement.

The Republic of Fiji held the presidency of COP23 through 2017-2018 and have recently announced that it will introduce a Climate Change Act, one of the world’s most ambitious legislative programs which includes tighter restrictions on the use of plastics, a framework for Fiji to reduce its emissions to net-zero by 2050, the introduction of a carbon credits scheme and the establishment of procedures for the relocation of communities at risk from the adverse effects of the climate crisis.

Tokelau has just announced the launch of its Fakaofo Wind Turbine Project, situated on the southernmost island of Tokelau. Tokelau is trialing the viability of this innovation in its efforts to take urgent climate action.