12/12/2021

(AU SMH) As My People Move To Higher Ground, We Need Australia To Rise Above Its Dangerous Addiction To Coal

Sydney Morning Herald - Frank Bainimarama

Author
Less than one month ago I returned from COP26 – one of the most critical global climate meetings in a generation.

The Fijian delegation went to Glasgow with the interests of the Pacific and Small Island Developing States at the centre of our approach. We knew from experience that we were involved in a long-term process.

But we also knew that COP26 needed to resolve, as a matter of urgency, a number of issues that were holding up progress on both mitigation of climate change and adaptation to its impacts.

Some Fijians are already retreating to higher ground. Credit: Tourism Fiji

While we were pleased that the parties agreed to stay on track to keep warming to under 1.5 degrees, we are deeply concerned that the pledges made so far will not take us there.

It is also clear that many, including Australia, have placed far too much emphasis on net zero by 2050, given that the best hope for limiting temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees is contingent on what we do between now and 2030.

The agreement in the Glasgow climate pact to review and upgrade 2030 targets by 2022 was therefore one of the most welcome outcomes of COP26.

All signatory parties will have to bring greater ambition and more robust policies to COP27 next year, particularly the largest emitters – and Australia is in the top 20 of global emitters.

We encourage Australia to reconsider its recent comments that it will not revisit its 2030 targets. The opportunity to contest this vital tenet of the pact was during COP26, not after it.

While COP26 did not achieve the scale of commitments we need on the whole, it did provide us with the language and decisions needed to increase pressure on those who continue to prefer to drag their feet and shirk their share of the burden.

We also need to see more ambition from the Australian government on its dangerous addiction to coal. We understand the place coal occupies in the Australian economy and in Australian history and culture but we need to further explore how we take this option off the table.

Australia is not only in an influential position to phase out coal sales globally; it is in a position to become a centre for global energy innovation with its abundance of renewable energy potential.

Prime ministers Scott Morrison and Frank Bainimarama at the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The impacts and costs of climate change are all too real for Pacific islanders, and we can’t escape the science.

In light of this reality, Fiji went to Glasgow with some very specific objectives on financing for adaptation.

We had struggled to get developed countries to follow through on their commitment to mobilise $100 billion a year by 2020. Since Glasgow, we now have an agreement for independent monitoring of those commitments to ensure we achieve the $100 billion target as soon as possible.

In that vein, I commend Australia for its new Indo-Pacific Carbon Offset Scheme (IPCOS). Trading in carbon credits will help fill the gaps in financing for adaptation. It is not a long-term solution, nor is it an alternative to action to rapidly drive down carbon emissions, but the system has merit.

Australia’s IPCOS will mean that Fijian resource owners and investors in renewable energy can generate carbon units that can be sold to Australian companies at an attractive price.

Empowered by the legal framework established by our new Climate Change Act, this creates strong incentives to keep natural resources intact in Fiji and attract investments in nature-based solutions.

We are also very pleased that Australia pledged to increase its climate finance commitment by $A500 million for the Pacific and south-east Asia.

Agreements like this recognise that, ultimately, the stakes are the same for all of us – survival, plain and simple. Just as we are moving communities to high ground to escape sea-level rise, we keep hold of the moral high ground, and we believe that requires us to do more.

We are one of the first countries – if not the first – to adopt a Climate Change Act which means government ministries must now seriously consider the climate impact of every program, every initiative and every expenditure.

A growing majority of governments and businesses have discarded the tired notion that economic progress and environmental protection are at odds. Profitable business, strong economies and effective climate action go hand in hand.

By taking advantage of the market potential that lies in carbon neutrality, government and business can drive faster decarbonisation – and help avert climate catastrophe.

It is time to create a new era for the planet we call home.

Political leaders – if they are worthy of the term – have critical levers for change at their disposal.

Businesses, state and local governments, local communities, civic organisations, organised labour, faith communities and people everywhere must also champion change.

If we can muster courage and good will – and if we seriously consider the price we will pay if our efforts fall short – then I trust we will prevail.

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