Call for Government to fund climate change loss and damage in Pacific 

Act for Peace, the international humanitarian agency of the National Council of Churches Australia joins civil society groups from across Australia and the Pacific, calling on the Australian Government to champion loss and damage finance for Pacific Island countries at the Bonn UN Climate Change Conference, to address urgent needs of frontline communities across the Pacific grappling with the escalating climate crisis.

The climate crisis has already had devastating impacts on Pacific communities which face increasingly frequent and severe storms, coastal erosion, drought and marine life loss. The Bonn conference is a crucial opportunity for Australia to demonstrate its commitment to the Pacific by advocating to integrate loss and damage into the NCQG and by contributing significantly to the Loss and Damage Fund with new and additional finance. 

In a joint letter led by Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) and Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN), supported by over 25 other organisations, civil society groups are urging the Australian Government to support Pacific countries’ call to include loss and damage in a new global climate finance goal under negotiation. They also want to see the Government increase its climate finance contributions to align with its AUD $4 billion annual fair share, and to provide a significant, additional contribution to the global Loss and Damage Fund.

The Bonn meeting, held in Germany, June 3-13, is one of the last major opportunities for countries to build consensus ahead of November’s COP29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where a new global goal for climate finance, the ‘New Collective Quantified Goal’ (NCQG), is set to be agreed.

As the third biggest exporter of fossil fuels globally, Australia has played a significant role in creating the climate losses and damages that will be and are being experienced by vulnerable communities.

	When Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin lashed Vanuatu, many homes and livelihoods were destroyed. Andrew sits outside his makeshift home in Port Vila. The twin cyclones demolished his family home and they had to shelter in a nearby cave. Credit: Sarah Doyle/Act for Peace

While Australia supported the establishment of the global Loss and Damage Fund at COP28, it has yet to contribute to the Fund, and its 2022-23 climate finance contributions were only about 15% of its fair share of the current global USD 100 billion annual climate finance target which applies through to 2025.

Pacific Island countries have consistently emphasised that climate change is the greatest threat to their livelihoods, security, and well-being, and have been strong advocates for loss and damage finance given the immense recovery costs and the severe impact on Pacific economies, societies, and cultures. In 2023, Vanuatu faced two Category 4 cyclones within just 24 hours, affecting 80% of the population and causing widespread destruction. Fiji, still recovering from Tropical Cyclones Yasa and Ana, has schools operating in makeshift tents years later, jeopardising children’s education.

Dr Sindra Sharma, Senior Policy Advisor Pacific Islands Climate Action Network said:

“This new era of climate finance must deliver new, adequate and primarily public-funded, grants-based and mobilised through a “polluter pays” principle, holding those most responsible for this climate injustice accountable to their obligations under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. It is a matter of justice, equity and responsibility. 

We call on the Australian Government to step up, take decisive action, and ensure climate finance truly becomes the catalyst for the urgent climate action our planet desperately needs.”