Australia has publicly recognised the urgent climate threats its Pacific neighbors face. It is now time to put that sentiment into action. 

The Bonn Climate Conference is set to begin this week. It will be a pivotal moment for developing countries and for the progression of negotiations on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG). Recently, the Australian Council for International Development, Climate Action Network Australia and the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network alongside 30 civil society organisations signed on to a joint letter to Prime Minister Albanese, outlining the crucial need for loss and damage finance to be included in the new global climate finance goal.  

Pacific Island countries continue to emphasise that climate change poses the greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the Blue Pacific Continent. They have been steadfast global advocates for loss and damage finance, in the light of the very real losses communities are facing due to escalating climate-related shocks.   

Climate-induced disasters in the Pacific are causing irreparable damage to livelihoods. In Vanuatu, the twin cyclones Judy and Kevin led to a 40 percent loss to the nation’s GDP.  Further, lack of adequate climate finance is growing debt burdens, as governments are forced to seek loans to finance recovery that are not sustainable. The average external debt of Small Island Developing States had risen 13% in 14 years to 58.5%, while these nations hold the least responsibility for historical carbon emissions at the root cause of their debt distress. 

As a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, and with a shared commitment to the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, Australia has affirmed its understanding of the urgent climate threats its Pacific neighbors face. In addition, the Government has committed to listening and being guided by the Pacific on their needs and priorities.  

Australian NGOs welcomed the actions of Minister Bowen at COP28 in Dubai last year, where he pledged $100 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility and supported the establishment of the global Loss and Damage Fund at COP28 last year. 

Disappointingly, the Australian Government is yet to follow through with contributing to the Loss and Damage Fund. In 2022-23, Australia’s climate finance contributions were around 15 percent of our fair share of the global annual goal of $100 billion USD. Australia is the 13th largest economy in the world, and a key partner in the region – we can do more. Australian civil society continues to urge the Government to take proactive steps to reach its fair share of the global annual climate finance goal – currently $4 billion AUD per year new and additional to existing Official Development Assistance.  

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that even if effective mechanisms to limit global warming to 1.5°C were put in place, losses and damages stemming from climate change are already happening and projected to worsen. That means developed economies must step up on the provision of loss and damage finance.  

As a country seeking to be a leader within the Asia-Pacific region, it is critical that Australia play its part in advocating for the inclusion of loss and damage within the new global climate finance goal and ensures that loss and damage contributions are new and additional to Australian Official Development Assistance.   

Our open letter can be found here 

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Authors: Dr Alex-Edney-Browne, Policy & Government Relations Lead, ACFID, & Will Devine, Government Relations & Media Advisor, ACFID. 

Image credit: Kahyula Yudha/Surfaid