4 November 2023, Dubai UAE - The historical agreement on the capitalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund clinched on the first day of COP28 in Dubai, UAE, has been hailed as a major victory by parties as the latest round of climate change negotiations continue.
But what it means for Pacific communities and where to from here was the focus of a High Level side-event titled “Addressing Loss and Damage: Leadership and Lessons from the Pacific,” at the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, on Sunday.
The session also highlighted the Pacific’s leadership in the Loss and Damage journey thus far.
The speakers included Fiji's Prime Minister, Hon. Sitiveni Rabuka, the Pacific’s Political Champion for Loss and Damage and Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change, Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, Niue’s Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Mona Ainuu, Tuvalu’s Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for Climate Change, Hon. Seve Paeniu and the Republic of Marshall Islands Climate Envoy, Ms Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner.
Moderated by SPREP's Director General, Mr Sefanaia Nawadra, the panel also featured New Zealand's Climate Change Ambassador, Ms Kay Harrison, Denmark's Climate Ambassador, Mr Tomas Anker Christensen, Assistant Secretary Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Environment, and Water, Mr David Higgins and the Head of Unit for Financing International Climate Action and Environmental Protection, German Foreign Office, Ms Ursula Fuentes.
Fiji’s Prime Minister welcomed the capitalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund and spoke about the Fiji Relocation Trust Fund, launched on the margins of the 74th United Nations General Assembly in 2019, the world’s first relocation fund for people displaced by climate change. Times have changed, the Prime Minister told the gathering. In the old days for instance, communities relocated based around the wishes of village chiefs and elders.
“These days, relocation is determined by cyclones, extreme weather events and climate change, that’s the harsh reality,” he said. “Our connection to our vanua, or whatever you call it in your Pacific language, cannot be underestimated. The Pacific’s close relationship with our ocean and our land is a centrepiece of our identity and our culture.
“Climate change is straining that relationship and some of our neighbours now face threats to the habitability, or their very ability to stay in their country, their entire nation is threatened now and they must consider that difficult option, such as cross border migration. This is the sad reality we want funds like the Loss and Damage Fund to address.”
Like Hon. Rabuka, the Pacific’s Political Champion for Loss and Damage Hon. Regenvanu applauded the breakthrough decision on L&D in Dubai but said the focus should now be on financing the Fund.
“Loss and damage caused by climate change and its associated impacts are increasingly becoming a global concern, and Vanuatu, being a vulnerable island nation, has experienced firsthand the devastating consequences. The loss of lives, infrastructure, and invaluable cultural heritage have left lasting scars on this beautiful nation,” said Hon. Regenvanu. “The current funding gaps for addressing loss and damage are massive and inadequately reported. Neither humanitarian nor insurance mechanisms are able or suited to meet the needs of Vanuatu’s most vulnerable.”
Niue’s Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Mona Ainuu, said world leaders gathering in Dubai for COP28 cannot and should not ignore the plight of the Pacific when they consider the next steps for the L&D Fund.
“I call on COP Presidencies, now and into the future, to prioritise Pacific communities, who are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change when it comes to the Loss and Damage Fund,” she said. “COP28 is very important to getting the world back on track and I hear this call everywhere in this COP, but who are they calling on? You can’t be calling on each other and not have an agreement on how to make our world better. Now is the time to act.”
Although all Pacific countries are impacted by the climate crisis, the impacts are particularly severe for low-lying atoll nations, Tuvalu’s Minister of Finance, Hon. Seve Paeniu lamented.
“When people talk about relocation, the concept doesn’t work in Tuvalu, we are a low-lying atoll nation just two metres above sea level with a very thin strip of land. So when you move from the foreshore towards inland, you actually go into the ocean on the other side. That’s how precarious our situation is in Tuvalu,” Hon. Paeniu said. “So when we talk about Loss and Damage, it’s very relevant in our context. When islands are disappearing, this is the impact of a slow onset event that we would like the Loss and Damage Fund to be able to support.”
Republic of Marshall Islands Climate Envoy, Ms Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, delved into the more complex question of the loss of cultural identity.
“Like Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands is only two metres above sea level and we are an atoll nation that is at risk of losing quite a lot, in fact we’ve already lost quite a lot,” she said. “When we talk about Loss and Damage, a lot of what takes priority are discussions about single disasters and then quantifying the amount that’s lost from property damage and things like. What I see as an issue we need to continue to explore a little bit more is how do we quantify cultural loss, cultural livelihoods and cultural impacts, which is a key priority for many of us in the Pacific?”
COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber gavelled the first major milestone of COP28 delivering a historic agreement to operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund on the first day of the meeting. The Fund was first agreed upon during COP27, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and becomes operational following the agreement reached by parties during 5 transitional committee meetings.
The 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) in Dubai, UAE is taking place from Thursday 30 November 2023 – Tuesday 12 December 2023.
It is being attended by Pacific leaders and their delegations, who are advocating for the survival of Pacific communities who continue to be at the forefront of climate change impacts.
A key part of amplifying the One Pacific Voice at COP28 is the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, which is a Pacific partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Another key part of the Pacific’s work at COP28 is the Pacific Delegation Office, which is Pacific partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand. Both the Moana Pacific Pavilion and the Pacific Delegation Office are managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).