Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific focus at COP28
Every year, governments and civil society from around the world gather for the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP), to agree on goals and negotiate agreements in the fight against climate change. In preparation for this year's event, COP28 in Dubai, the New Zealand government opened a consultation for how Aotearoa should approach the negotiations, and which policies we should advocate for. The updated mandate was recently released by MFAT ahead of the negotiations in November-December.
Caritas made a detailed submission to the consultation, which you can read in full here. A major focus of our submission, which has been reflected in parts of the updated mandate, was a focus on building better outcomes for the Pacific – such as better targeted climate finance to Pacific Island countries, a just transition to a fossil fuel free Pacific, and prioritising advocating for Pacific Islands Forum priorities such as the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. Our prioritisation of the Pacific is grounded in Catholic social teaching principles:
Participation – Nāu te Rourou, Nāku te Rourou
Our principle of participation teaches that everyone has something unique and important to contribute, so we should enable all to participate in group efforts. This is especially poignant at COP negotiations, where Pacific Island countries are some of the most deeply affected by climate change, and have unique voices and moral authority on climate action. However, there are challenges to having Pacific voices heard at COP - the long distance and high cost of attending can be prohibitive for small island nations; also, many Pacific nations remain territories of colonial states including Britain, France, the United States and New Zealand, meaning they do not even get a seat of their own at the negotiations, and rely on these countries to reflect their interests. Because the voice of the Pacific is so unique and important, it is our responsibility to ensure Pacific countries can overcome these barriers to have their viewpoints reflected.
COP events have historically been held far away from the Pacific, particularly in Europe. There have been more COPs in Germany and Poland than the entire continent of Asia.
This makes it harder than ever for the voices of the Pacific to be heard.
Distributive Justice – Te Tika ka Tohaina
The principle of distributive justice teaches that resources should be allocated to those who need them, rather than being exploited by the few. Pacific Island countries are in some of the most urgent and severe need of climate finance, as they face the immediate impacts of climate change on their societies, but are also some of the least likely to receive the funding they need. The Caritas Oceania report Twin Clouds on the Horizon highlighted this issue in 2022, explaining that without adequate climate finance, Pacific countries face the threat of both environmental devastation, and accompanying debt crises. Pacific Island nations have some of the lowest carbon footprints in the world, especially compared to Aotearoa's high emissions per capita, and so we have a responsibility to ensure resources are justly distributed to where they are most needed.
Subsidiarity – Mana Whakahaere and Solidarity – Whakawhanaungatanga
The Pacific Ocean, te Moana Nui a Kiwa, is our common home, and a shared environment for countries across Oceania. Foreign powers have a history of seeking to exploit the Pacific, with little regard for its environment or people, seen in historic examples such as nuclear testing, and more recently such as with seabed mining. Our principle of subsidiarity teaches that decisions should be made at the most appropriate level, generally by people they directly affect. We have seen the resolve and commitment of the Pacific, through statements and strategies such as the Pacific Blue Line, Treaty of Rarotonga for a nuclear-free South Pacific, Port Vila call for a just transition to a fossil fuel free Pacific, and 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We should heed these calls and support the people of the Pacific to have the final say over their own futures, especially in global platforms such as COP28 where we have the opportunity to stand in solidarity with them, in line with our Catholic social teaching principles.