ActionAid Australia

❗ #COP29 ❗ Rich, high polluting countries have once again failed the moral test on climate action. They have ignored objections from #women, Indigenous Peoples, and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis around the world. The goal that has been pushed through is shameful and will only deepen #gender inequality and #poverty. Low-income countries came to COP29 demanding at least US$1 trillion from rich countries each year to recover and rebuild from relentless disasters like floods and cyclones. This goal of US$300 billion by 2035 barely covers inflation, let alone the staggering rise in the cost of responding to climate disasters in low-income countries, which has risen well into the trillions of dollars annually. Rich countries have taken a backslide on their obligations, only agreeing to ‘take the lead’ in mobilising climate finance. This deal has also further jeopardised the urgent goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, denying low-income countries the resources they need for the just transition away from fossil fuels. Loss and damage finance is nowhere to be seen in this goal, there’s no reference to gender or human rights, and no commitment to public grant-based finance, giving rich countries a green light to scale up loans rather than delivering the crucial grants that frontline communities need and have called for. Low-income countries should not be forced into further debt to pay for a crisis they did not cause, while rich countries and corporations reap the profits. We call on Australia to urgently scale up its climate finance – we must not abandon the people who have done the least to cause this crisis. https://lnkd.in/gZb-W6HF

ActionAid has long called for accountability for war crimes and violations of international law, and we welcome this landmark ruling by the International Criminal Court. The Pre-Trial Chamber's finding that Israeli officials Netanyahu and Gallant intentionally deprived civilians in #Gaza of essential supplies such as food, water, medicine, and fuel is a grave indictment of their barbaric actions in Gaza. By obstructing humanitarian aid and failing to provide relief, they violated international humanitarian law and caused immense suffering to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. We demand that these individuals face full prosecution for their actions and that justice be swiftly delivered to the victims of these atrocities. The time for accountability is now. It is too late for the tens of thousands of Palestinians brutally killed in Gaza, but the search for justice for them, their families, and Occupied Palestine takes a big step forward today. https://lnkd.in/equVyc3F

Today we joined a coalition of NGOs to send an open letter to #ClimateChange Minister Chris Bowen, urging him to ramp up his efforts at #COP29 to ensure we reach the US$1 trillion climate finance goal that the world needs. #Women across the #Pacific are battling the daily realities of a heating planet – more frequent and severe storms, floods and rising seas. They urgently need funding to recover and rebuild when disasters hit, but Australia and other rich countries are refusing to include loss and damage in the new climate finance goal. Australia needs to show real leadership in the final days of COP29. The stakes could not be higher for women and their communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. If Australia wants to be a climate leader on the global stage, now is the opportunity. Today's letter to Minister Bowen came from ActionAid Australia along with ACOSS Australian Council of Social Service, Act for Peace, Alliance for Future Generations - Fiji, Amnesty International Australia, Caritas Australia, ClimActs, CLIMARTE, Currie Country Social Change, Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education, Grata Fund, International Women's Development Agency (IWDA), Jubilee Australia Research Centre, Lighter Footprints, LIVE, Oxfam Australia, Pacific Conference of Churches, Pasifika Network Loss and Damage, Peoples Climate Assembly, Plan International Australia, Quakers Australia, Shifting the Power Coalition, Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church in Australia - Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, Vote Earth Now, Yarra Climate Action Now and others.

❗ #COP29 ❗ For over a year, we've been advocating strongly for the Australian Government to commit badly needed funding to a global fund for climate loss and damage. And yesterday, Australia finally pledged a $50 million contribution to the Loss and Damage Fund. This is a welcome and necessary first step. Thank you to all our supporters who have sent emails to the government and made your voices heard. But there's still work to do. Australia's loss and damage pledge can't just be a one-off. Women and their communities across the Pacific deserve to know that Australia is committed to supporting them long-term, as they face devastating impacts of the climate crisis, from king tides to crop failures, and from worsening cyclones to fresh water shortages. If you haven't taken action yet, take a moment to support Pacific women and their calls for climate justice: https://lnkd.in/gz7-b6kr

Wonderful to see Flora Vano from ActionAid Vanuatu and Michelle Higelin from ActionAid Australia at #COP29 in Baku talking about our exciting new off-grid renewable energy project which is being piloted in the community of Lawital in the north of Tanna - one of the many islands in #Vanuatu. Like most rural areas in Vanuatu, Lawital relies on kerosene lamps, candles and fires. Women in the community need electricity and lighting for safety, to improve their quality of life, and so children can study. This will be a transformational project for the community of Lawital, and into the future we hope even more communities across Vanuatu will have the opportunity to have access to clean and reliable electricity. Thank you to PowerWells and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for your support to make this project come to life!

New research released at #COP29 highlights that a 1 degree rise in temperature is linked to a 4.5% increase in #GBV. In every crisis violence increases and effective climate responses must include a focus on preventing GBV and protecting the most vulnerable in line with #WPS commitments. It was a privilege for me to represent ActionAid Australia and the Australian Civil Society Coalition for Women, Peace and Security at this event on GBV & Climate Change to share why we need to scale up support to address these twin crises and to share our pioneering work on Women-Led Community Based Protection. Also wonderful to join Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change Kristen Tilley and Carolyn Kitione from the Pacific Shifting the Power Coalition. Research link here: https://lnkd.in/eA6Xqw8x

It's not enough to just listen - world leaders at #COP29 need to take action! 🌏

❗ #COP29 ❗ Our colleague Flora Vano from ActionAid Vanuatu is in Baku right now to send a message to global leaders that countries like #Vanuatu are bearing the brunt of climate impacts despite doing the least to cause the climate crisis and urgently need money to adapt and mitigate against climate impacts. Pacific communities need #ClimateFinance money to build resilience, and address the growing loss and damage they are already experiencing as a result of the lack of climate action by polluting countries like Australia.

❗ #COP29 ❗ Flora Vano from ActionAid Vanuatu has delivered a crucial message to world leaders who are gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan to decide on how much climate finance money to give to low income countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis. “The recognition by the UN of the existential threats that our islands face due to the climate crisis is welcome. Sadly, at this COP, the rich polluting countries continue to evade their moral and historical obligation to pay up the finance we urgently need to cope with the climate crisis.  I implore world leaders to remember that the fate of millions of people living in small Island states such as Vanuatu, who are paying the price for years of climate inaction, depends on the outcome of COP29. In the last year alone, our country has experienced twin cyclones over 48 hours and an out of season cyclone which devastated our livelihoods.  We have not fully recovered from last year’s extreme weather events and are faced with more cyclones before we have had a chance to rebuild and recover. Climate disasters are pushing us to the brink, and any further delays in unlocking adequate climate finance could spell a point of no return for us. We need the new climate finance goal to have a sub-goal for loss and damage and be made accessible for local communities, including women-led organisations who are on the frontlines of this crisis and leading on climate solutions.”

We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid the worst impacts from the climate crisis. And time is not on our side. In this crucial period, I urge global leaders at the #COP29 climate conference to let themselves be guided by a clear truth: Climate finance is not charity, it’s an investment. Climate action is not optional, it’s an imperative. Both are indispensable: to a liveable world for all humanity and a prosperous future for every nation on Earth.