Urgent and decisive actions at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27

PIANGO Board Secretary, Sepesa Rasili signs the KIOA Climate Emergency Declarations after it was launched by the KIOA Council on the island.

With the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27 underway at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (PIANGO) and partners, have outlined a list of key asks, that demand urgent and decisive action.

These demands derived from the existing work by PIANGO with its NLUs and Regional CSO partners such as PRNGO Alliance and the CSO partners for the Kioa Climate Emergency Declaration, that builds on its humanitarian work with its NLUs in partnership with START Network,  bridging the nexus between humanitarian response and climate action.

Deputy Executive Director, Josaia Jirauni said the detailed demands are relevant to our work in calling for a Blue Pacific, Accountable & Transparent Climate Finances and Processes with effective citizens’ engagement, recognition of our self-determination struggles, inclusive partnerships and social inclusion in the region.

Through this Declaration PIANGO and its NLUs demand urgent and decisive actions through:

1. Greater action on mitigation, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to align to the 1.5C temperature goal, to ensure survival of small island communities.

This will be realised by completely phasing out fossil fuels, including no new fossil fuel projects, ending subsidies and financing of fossil fuel and other carbon-emitting extractive industries; Through safe and just transition to renewable and sustainable energy by 2050; and Achieving actual emissions reductions at source rather than through the use of ‘blue’ carbon credits and other carbon offset schemes.

2. Urgent action on adaptation including financing and support for community-led initiatives.
3. Urgent progress on the issue of Loss & Damage (L&D) by:

a. Securing separate, new and additional financing;
b. Establishing a Global Civil Society Taskforce, under the Warsaw International Mechanism, for Non-Economic Loss and Damage;
c. Establishing a Regional Civil Society Taskforce to ensure the Pacific voice in this process.

4. Ensure the just, dignified and safe movement of peoples, in the context of climate change, especially:

a. Migration with dignity is protected by law and promoted in policy;
b. Planned relocation and resettlement programs are community -focussed, consultative and based on free, prior and informed consent;
c. Utilise technology for collection and upkeep of data in the service of Pacific people.

5. Guaranteed access to finance, and the creation of more equitable finance arrangements, beginning with a review of regional and international financial architectures, with inputs from civil society organisations and other stakeholders.
6. Ocean policies that are compatible with the climate goals including:

a. Ban on deep sea mining;
b. Ban on discharge of wastes, including nuclear;
c. Protect the oceans for the survival of small island communities and ecosystems;
d. Recognise, respect, uphold and value the contributions traditional knowledge, culture and faith have played and continue to play in sustaining the unique relationship between the oceans and the environment.

7. Achieve inter-generational equity, ensuring we leave a better world for our descendants, by cancelling climate debt and a commitment to a debt-free future.

Nexus Between the Climate & Humanitarian Crisis

1. The climate crisis is a humanitarian crisis. All humanitarian actors must play an active role in addressing escalating climate risks.
2. Sustainable and effective climate responses must have local priorities at their core. Local actors and at-risk communities are best placed to identify problems and solutions based in their traditional knowledge.
3. Anticipatory action is one of the practical ways that civil society can address loss and damage. We must scale up anticipatory action to meet the challenges of the climate crisis.
4. The global approach to dealing with crises is not fit for purpose. The climate crisis is exacerbating humanitarian needs and humanitarian funding; centralised approaches cannot keep up with increasing demand.
5. We need a more proactive, faster and localised humanitarian system where communities are supported to analyse risks, create plans and have access to pre-arranged financing to save more lives

Policy Asks on Nexus Between Climate & Humanitarian Crisis

1. Devolve power to local responders in developing countries. Funding and decision-making power is needed at the local level, donors must action their Grand Bargain commitments. Local actors in the poorest parts of the world are the most affected by more severe and pronounced natural hazards including flooding, heatwaves and hurricanes, and consequently affecting already precarious food insecurity challenges and migration.
2. Support scaled up funding for anticipatory action and pre-arranged disaster risk finance which is complemented by wider risk management efforts within the climate, development, and humanitarian portfolios. Climate change poses challenges for risk analysis and predicting the likelihood of future extreme events. Integration of climate science into future simulations (climate conditioning of risk models) is needed.
3. Support and fund innovative ways of addressing the climate crisis. Forecast-based action, Insurance mechanisms, Community-based innovation, including indigenous wisdom, are underexplored locally led anticipatory action approaches that can provide more dignified aid and save more lives.

Ends .

Acknowledgment