Page 18 - IB May 2021

Climate Climate

pressure on the Morrison government, with UK Prime Minister nomic recovery was highlighted in the latest budget papers
Boris Johnson promoting carbon border taxes, the phase-out for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: the
of coal and green finance for developing countries. Australian Climate Finance Partnership (ACFP) for 2020–2024,
which “will catalyse private sector investment in climate ad-
Climate finance aptation and mitigation projects in the Pacific.” Australia has
President Biden has asked Congress for US$2.5 billion for contributed $140 million to the Asian Development Bank for
international climate financing, including US$1.2 billion for this ACFP initiative. However despite the publicity, the ADB
the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a key funding mechanism used told Islands Business that “the fund was recently announced
by most Forum Island Countries (except the French colonies). and as such ADB is focusing on pipeline development and has
Biden aims to double America’s annual public climate finance not yet signed ACFP-funded transactions.”
to developing countries by 2024, compared to the amount Despite significant energy investment in the May 2021
pledged by the Obama administration in 2013-16. As part Australian budget, the largest amounts were channelled into
of this goal, the US aims to triple the amount committed to the gas industry rather than renewable energy programs. The
adaptation by 2024. Oxford University study reports that Australia has spent US$2
However this sum is smaller than the US$3 billion pledged billion on green initiatives during the coronavirus recovery, a
to the GCF by the Obama administration, a pledge abandoned much smaller amount than countries like France (US$57bn),
by President Trump after just $1 billion had been transferred South Korea (US$54bn), Germany (US$47bn) or the United
(The Morrison government also followed the Trump adminis- Kingdom (US$42bn).
tration in abandoning GCF funding, even though Australia had
previously been co-chair of the global finance mechanism). Pacific Resilience Facility
The failure of other industrialised nations to pledge signifi- Seeking to increase community access to climate finance,
cant new climate funding at the Biden summit is a serious the Pacific Islands Forum has just issued a prospectus seeking
problem. Many developing countries’ Nationally Determined capital for a new Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF). Launched
Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement are condition- on 12 May, the prospectus describes PRF as a “regionally-
al on prior action and finance by OECD nations. Research from based, internationally-supported, and community-focused
the journal Climate Policy in 2019 reported: “No less than 136 fund”, aiming to increase investment in disaster preparedness
countries have made their NDCs partially or wholly conditional in vulnerable communities.
on receiving one or more types of support – climate finance This regional funding mechanism was proposed at the 2017
for mitigation or adaptation; technology transfer; and capac- Forum Economic Ministers Meeting and endorsed by Forum
ity building.” leaders at their 2019 summit in Tuvalu. For Dame Meg Taylor,
The failure of OECD countries to meet the Paris Agreement the creation of the PRF is “the first time that the Pacific takes
target for global climate finance by 2020 has angered many responsibility for setting up an institution it can run, so we
developing countries. Following the Biden summit, Dame Meg can try and look after ourselves.”
Taylor said: “It is also regrettable that no new climate finance The outgoing Forum Secretary General noted: “At the mo-
commitments were made, despite developing countries being ment we’ve got the Green Climate Fund and the GEF, and
fully aware that the promised US$100 billion per year by 2020 you have funding that comes through the Asian Development
has not been delivered.” Bank. But this PRF is a small niche, focusing very much on
For many years, island leaders have also decried the imbal- individuals and the kinds of projects that slip through the
ance between funding for community adaptation compared to cracks.”
emissions reductions. In 2020, US$3.4 billion in global finance Forum Secretariat staff have been working on the prospec-
was allocated – from this, $1.6 billion went to mitigation proj- tus with former Commonwealth Deputy Secretary General
ects, $309 million to REDD+ forestry initiatives, $894 million Deodat Maharaj, who has worked on similar initiatives in the
to cross cutting programs but only $586 million for adapta- Caribbean and Mozambique. Tuvalu’s UN ambassador and
tion. other diplomats have been working with the UN Secretary
Dame Meg Taylor said: “We hear John Kerry and Boris General’s Office to plan a pledging conference in New York,
Johnson talking a lot more about adaptation. But they’ve got possibly next October, to raise US$1.5 billion for the PRF
to start looking at where it really matters. Adaptation really from development partners and philanthropic foundations.
matters in the front line and that’s where the Pacific is.” This core capital will be invested and the PRF will draw on
Given the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic interest, aiming to disburse US$180 million to projects over
and the ongoing climate emergency, post-COVID recovery the first three years of operations. The new fund will initially
should focus on climate-aligned initiatives. Key partners be housed within the Forum Secretariat in Suva until a fully-
however, are moving slowly at a time Pacific states are taking fledged independent organisation can be established, which
on COVID-induced debt. A new study from Oxford University Samoa has offered to host.
for the United Nations Environment Program shows Australia Despite this initiative, the withdrawal of five Micronesian
is the worst performer of the world’s 50 largest economies for nations from the Forum poses a major challenge to maintain-
“green recovery” spending after the COVID pandemic. ing a common regional voice. As she comes to the end of her
As one example, only one green initiative for regional eco- term as Forum Secretary General, Taylor argues for more

18 Islands Business, May 2021