Priority shift needed for Pacific climate financing - Caritas

Transcript

Caritas' director Julianne Hickey says New Zealand is not prioritising those most in need with its climate financing in the Pacific.

A report released by Caritas concludes that only half of New Zealand's climate aid dollars are being spent on adaptation projects that support those most vulnerable to climate change.

Julianne Hickey spoke with Esther Zweifel about these adaptation projects.

JULIANNE HICKEY: Adaptation projects are ones that reduce the vulnerability of people and nature to the impacts of climate change. So they will be things like assisting people to move to different areas where they're not vulnerable to the rising sea levels. They will include projects around food and water and the stories that we're hearing on the ground are that food supplies and waters supplies are becoming more scarce and more erratic. And we're seeing very little of either the global financial commitment or the bilateral commitment going to the needs of those most vulnerable people.

ESTHER ZWEIFEL: So based on these statistics, what is the other half of New Zealand's aid dollars been spent on, the climate aid dollars?

JH: What we are seeing from our analysis that is there are a number of infrastructure projects where the finances go in to develop and to either manage what we call mitigation finance and some of those projects are really good, one's about renewable energy however there are some projects that we've found for example the building of a jetty in the Cook Islands so that cruise ships could have another place to dock when there was severe weather those sorts of infrastructure projects. Whilst they might be valid in terms of coping with the changing weather we don't see that the priorities are right there. We think the priorities for climate change finance should be about those who are most vulnerable and most impacted by it and those are the people who, for food and water, it is a life and death situation and for people who it is a life and death situation, the climate finance is not reaching them.

EZ: What do you think is motivating this division in funding?

JH: I think sometimes its easier to put funding into infrastructure projects and you build something and there's something you can look at it and see that you have delivered. With people's livelihoods and their food and water it can be sometimes more difficult, to do that adaptation funding. But I don't think that should stop us from making sure that that funding does reach those communities and those people.

EZ: Is there perhaps a disconnect between the government's sustainable economic development objective and the objectives of climate change assistance?

JH: I do think that if you're looking purely at economic development it's easy to focus on the infrastructure, so building a jetty you can see that there will be economic development from the tourists who come along and come on to the island, because they're at the jetty they are able to dock and then come and spend their money, but that's where the priority sits and we strongly believe that the priorities need to include the well-being and the livelihood of all of these communities who are affected.

Julianne Hickey says Caritas is now calling for the government to commit more funding to climate change in the Pacific to bridge the gap between what is needed and what is currently being spent.  

Kiribati damaged causeway 16x10 Photo: Supplied