PM’s $150m COP boost for developing nations
Australia will provide $100m to establish a Pacific Resilience Facility and re-join the global Green Climate Fund with a $50m pledge.
Australia will provide $100m to establish a Pacific Resilience Facility and re-join the UN-backed Green Climate Fund for developing nations, with a $50m pledge, formally reversing Scott Morrison’s 2018 decision to withdraw from the green fund.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen will unveil the $150m commitments on the sidelines of the UN COP28 summit in Dubai on Friday, pledging to help Pacific and developing nations access direct finance to combat climate change.
The PRF, flagged by Anthony Albanese at last month’s Pacific Islands Forum, will “support locally led, small-scale projects” across the region.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Mr Bowen said the Pacific climate fund included “grants for climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, nature-based solutions and projects that respond to loss and damage”.
“The Albanese government is responding to Pacific needs by delivering new climate finance directly to the region to deal with the climate crisis and protect people, housing and infrastructure,” the pair said. “By rejoining the GCF, Australia can effectively advocate for GCF funding to meet Pacific needs.”
The government, which has previously allocated $75m for off-grid and community-scale renewable energy in remote and rural parts of the Pacific, has sponsored more than 50 South Pacific delegates to attend COP28 in Dubai.
The funding boost for Pacific nations comes as the Prime Minister seeks to win support at next year’s climate change conference for Australia to co-host the COP31 summit with South Pacific countries in 2026.
Mr Bowen, who took a ride on-board the Fortescue Future Industries Green Pioneer vessel in Dubai harbour after arriving on Thursday, said the government was “restoring Australia’s climate leadership at home and abroad”.
“I look forward to continuing to work closely with my Pacific colleagues to call for stronger global action to reduce emissions and to ensure decisions on climate finance deliver practical outcomes and maximum impact for the Pacific, and other countries who are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts,” he said.
Mr Bowen, who will meet with US Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry, COP28 president Sultan Al-Jaber and UNFCCC executive director Simon Stiell in the coming days, will hold talks with key allies before finalising Australia’s position on phasing down unabated fossil fuels.
An umbrella group of COP negotiators from the US, Britain, New Zealand, Canada and other countries, chaired by Mr Bowen, will discuss wording on a push to phase out fossil fuels amid resistance from China, the African Union and other nations.
Before the Morrison government pulled-out of the GCF, Australia contributed $200m to the global fund from 2015 to 2018. The world’s largest climate fund, established as part of the landmark Paris agreement, has approved projects in 128 countries.
Senator Wong said the PRF would help Pacific countries directly access climate finance.
“We have taken on board Pacific feedback on climate finance – this contribution demonstrates our strong commitment to Pacific climate priorities and we call on other donor countries to follow Australia’s lead and pledge serious funding towards the $US500m target for the Pacific Resilience Facility,” she said.
Mr Bowen and Austrian climate action minister Leonore Gewessler will launch a joint-funding call to support industrial decarbonisation projects.
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