Twin clouds on he horizon: Averting a combined climate and debt crisis in the Pacific through locally-delivered climate finance
This report looks in detail at debt, climate change and their combined impacts on the Pacific region. The report calls on Australia to lead the international community in strengthening the ability of Pacific nations to withstand the shocks of climate change, through restructuring debt, improving climate finance and funding the Pacific Resilience Facility. Climate finance is, at its heart, the repayment of a debt owed by countries that caused climate change to those that experience its worst effects. It is essential that high-income countries do not shirk that debt, but instead stand in solidarity with those on the front lines of climate change.
The Pacific region finds itself facing two clouds on the horizon - the current climate crisis, which will have further severe impacts as the planet continues to warm, and the risk of a debt crisis, as public debts grow among countries in the region. Addressing both challenges requires an immediate significant increase in grant-based climate finance and loss and damage finance to the Pacific, to ensure that countries and communities across the region can respond to the climate crisis without worsening public debt. It also requires coordinated measures to address the growing global debt crisis for low- and middle-income countries so that debt repayments do not take money away from climate change action and recovery.
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