Caleb
Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific
journalist
“Political and ego manoeuvring” is
happening behind the scenes at COP30 in Brazil, as Australia
and Türkiye wrestle to host the United Nations climate
event next year.
Pacific Islands Forum’s climate
adviser Karlos Lee Moresi, who is at the talks in Belém,
said the negotiations for who will host COP31 is
tough.
“We have Australia with the Pacific very
adamant that we need, not only do we want, we need to have a
COP in the Pacific. The Türkiye position is they’re not
giving up,” Moresi said.
“In all honesty, there’s a
bit of political and ego manoeuvring happening behind the
scenes.”
Moresi said he thought Türkiye was trying to
influence European countries to host the event.
He
said as a last resort, and if COP is hosted in Türkiye, the
Pacific would want something from Türkiye in
response.
“It is not something that we’re really
entertaining actively as an option to put forward on the
table for now.”
COP30 began in Belém on Monday. It
has been 10 years since the landmark Paris Agreement was
signed.
In his opening speech at the conference,
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) executive secretary Simon Stiell said the science
is clear, temperatures can be brought back down to 1.5C
after any temporary overshoot.
“The emissions curve
has been bent downwards because of what was agreed in halls
like this, with governments legislating and markets
responding, but I’m not sugarcoating it, we have so much
more to go.”
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The Pacific’s position throughout each
COP – “1.5C to stay alive” – has not changed, along with
improving access to climate finance.
Unique to this
year’s summit is that it is the first time the world’s top
court, the International Court of Justice’s advisory
opinion, can be used as a negotiating tool.
The
advisory opinion found failing to protect people from the
effects of climate change could violate international
law.
“In the context of the phrase ‘everyone has an
opinion’, but is it an informed opinion, what we are saying
is the ICJ that’s in the highest court is the most informed
opinion on this issue.”
Save the Children New Zealand
youth engagement coordinator Vira Paky said she wants to see
different parties working together on solutions designed for
children and young people.
“We know that children and
young people are disproportionately affected by climate
change and we want to be on the frontlines to advocate for
children and youth voices to be considered.”
Faiesea
Ah Chee, one of the youth delegates with Save the Children,
wants climate finance to be more accessible for the
Pacific.
“I’ve seen how severe weather impact has
impacted us and how there’s a lack of funding to help with
adaptation and mitigation projects back home in the islands.
So, hoping to get a clear vision and understanding of where
we can get access to all this climate finance,” Chee, who
grew up in Samoa, said.
While world leaders are
meeting, rescue workers in Papua New Guinea are scrambling
to relocate about 300 people living on unstable
earth.
Papua New Guinea’s Wabag MP office spokesperson
Geno Muspak said they live around the site of a deadly
landslide that flattened houses while people slept
inside.
He said it is clear to him the climate crisis
is to blame.
“As times are changing the weather is not
good for us, especially for people who are living in the
remote places,” Muspak said.
The pointy end of COP 30
is still a while off, with the conference running until the
end of next
week.
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