Page 21 - IB FEB 2019

Opinion

Reward work, not wealth

By Raijeli Nicole
AT the close of 2018, all eyes were on international conferences
in Poland and Hawaii, dealing with global commitments to cli-
mate change and fisheries management respectively. However Reward work, not wealth Photo: Shaz Pics Seaproof.tv
Oxfam in the Pacific’s Regional Director, Raijeli Nicole, was at an
important meeting dealing with another and related issue for the emerging technologies, such as those that remove carbon dioxide
Pacific, the Blue economy in Nairobi, kenya. Highlights from her directly from the air. All in the very narrow window of the next
speech to the conference follow. 12 years while our momentum pushes us in the wrong direction.
I hail from the blue continent, specifically from the large ocean A year ago, Oxfam released its report “Reward Work, Not
state of Fiji. Fiji and its 13 independent island nation neighbours Wealth” at the World economic Forum in Davos. The report
are great ocean powers. We are custodians of more than 155 reveals 82 per cent of the wealth generated last year went to
million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean. I say custodians, the richest 1 per cent of the global population, while the 3.7 bil-
rather than owners, as we hold the Pacific Ocean in trust for lion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no
future generations, as our ancestors have done for generations increase in their wealth. Not only that, but 2017 saw the biggest
before us. We are accountable to, and responsible for the Ocean. increase in billionaires in history, one more every two days, and
For Pacific people, the ocean is the source of our identities, our billionaires saw their wealth increase by uS$762 billion in 12
creation and migration stories, our ancient gods, our ancestral months. This huge increase could have ended global extreme
connections, our food, and the key to our future prosperity. poverty seven times over.
So while concepts such as ocean governance and the blue Dangerous, poorly paid work for the many is supporting ex-
economy may have recently gained currency and focus in the treme wealth for the few. Women are in the worst work. Across
international political space, our connections and responsibilities the world, women consistently earn less than men and are usually
to the ocean are ancient. Our blue continent is not a collection in the lowest paid and least secure forms of work. By comparison,
of exclusive economic Zones or political boundaries or enclosed nine out of ten billionaires are men. We need to ensure the Blue
spaces, it is a complex, interlinked organism that connects and economy does not marginalise women.
sustains us. Samoa’s Prime Minister has described our blue continent as an
I would like to ask you to imagine that you are in the year 2031. increasingly contested space. We know that much of the discourse
Specifically, it is October 2031 and you are witnessing the Nobel around oceans governance and the blue economy is really about
Peace Prize announcement. The chair of the Nobel Committee jostling for control of a space that is important for regional and
walks up to the microphone and says: “Ladies and Gentleman, global order, capitalist accumulation and ecological conservation.
the Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize Let’s use the Blue economy to create a more human economy
for 2031 to “Reward Work, not Wealth Partnership” for their ef- that puts the interests of ordinary workers and small-scale food
forts to create a more equitable economy by prioritising ordinary producers first, not the highly paid and the owners of wealth.
workers and small-scale food producers and not the highly-paid This kind of economy has greater equality as a primary aim.
owners of wealth. It is about humanity and it could end extreme inequality while
This partnership formed at the first Sustainable Blue economy guaranteeing the future of our planet.
Conference held in Nairobi, kenya in November 2018 dared to put There are three ways we can make this difference.
into motion transformative solutions to address the key global We need to ensure all workers receive a minimum ‘living’ wage
challenge of poverty in all its forms and dimensions. I start with that would enable them to have a decent quality of life, eliminate
this vision as a way to inspire us to act on our commitment for the gender pay gap and protect the rights of women workers.
a just, inclusive and sustainable world. However, this vision We need to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share of tax
raises some questions about the realities in 2018 that need to through higher taxes and a crackdown on tax avoidance, and
be addressed if we are to reduce poverty, and what daring and increase spending on public services such as healthcare and
transformative solutions are necessary to get us there. education.
Any discussion of the Blue economy is intrinsically linked And as with climate financing, we believe in the importance of
to the need for action on climate change. Following the IPCC social accountability when it comes to income generation in this
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s) Special Report sector. The international community, national governments, and
on Global Warming of 1.5°C, we now know that we have just regional and international organisations also have an obligation
12 years to make massive and unprecedented changes to global to ensure that the most vulnerable - including women, children,
energy infrastructure to limit global warming to moderate levels. people with disabilities and our elders, are able to benefit from
Staying at or below 1.5°C requires slashing global greenhouse the investments in decarbonising the transport sector and have
gas emissions 45% below 2010 levels by 2030 and reaching net access to safe, affordable, accessible and transport systems.
zero by 2050. Meeting this IPCC goal demands extraordinary If we do this as an international community and press the reset
transitions in transportation; in energy, land, and building infra- button, we can imagine that future, when a Nobel peace prize is
structure; and in industrial systems. It means reducing our current conferred because we worked together for a just, inclusive and
coal consumption by one-third. It also demands a vast scale-up of sustainable world for all.

Islands Business, February 2019 21