Our Advocacy Associate Director Dr Damian Spruce is in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt at the 27th United Nations Climate Talks to represent Caritas Oceania. He is calling on international governments, including the Australian Government, to take the lead on climate debt in the Pacific through restructuring debt, improving climate finance and funding the Pacific Resilience Facility.
21 November 2022
COP27 ends with historic deal on Loss & Damage
The COP27 climate talks have ended with governments agreeing to set up a 'loss and damage' fund. This means that a specific fund will be created to support countries that have contributed least to causing the climate crisis but which are seeing devastating impacts – including the loss of crops and livestock to drought or being displaced from their homes due to rising sea levels.
The COP27 climate talks have ended with governments agreeing to set up a 'loss and damage' fund. This means that a specific fund will be created to support countries that have contributed least to causing the climate crisis, but which are seeing devastating impacts – including the loss of crops and livestock to drought or being displaced from their homes due to rising sea levels.
The climate conference was due to end on Friday, but discussions went into the early hours of Sunday to reach a deal.
Although there were certainly compromises, the breakthrough agreement for loss and damage will hopefully make a meaningful impact for the communities that we work with, whether that’s in the Pacific or in Africa.
What happens after COP27?
It’s exciting that the agreement has been made, but now comes the difficult part – the fund must be set up and it must have cash. There is currently no agreement on how the finance will be provided and where it should come from.
We are urging governments to ensure that this agreement does not go the same way as previous climate agreements, like to one made in 2009 that we will collectively spend $100 billion a year in climate aid.
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
17th November 2022
Today was the side event Catholic Perspectives at COP27: Climate and Biodiversity Justice from Faith perspective: what’s next?.
I joined Catholic delegates from across the world in presenting our report, "Twin Clouds", and discussing to what extent COP 27 has tackled the issues of climate finance that are so crucial for our Pacific sisters and brothers.
I was privileged to be on a panel with many other incredible speakers, including fellow members from the Caritas network, Ben Wilson from SCIAF, and María Amparo Alonso Escobar from Caritas Internationalis.
We all addressed how Catholic Social Teachings and Pope Francis' call for climate justice in his papal encyclical Laudato Si' align with the broader goals of COP27.
Catholic Perspectives at COP27: Climate and Biodiversity Justice from Faith perspective: what’s next? side event. Photo Damian Spruce/Caritas Australia.
Catholic Perspectives at COP27: Climate and Biodiversity Justice from Faith perspective: what’s next? side event. Photo Damian Spruce/Caritas Australia.
What is an encyclical?
An encyclical is a letter circulated by the Pope to Catholic churches worldwide. Papal encyclicals provide analysis on relevant issues for the faithful. Past popes have issued encyclicals on a variety of topics, but his Holy Father Pope Francis is the first to issue an encyclical on climate change.
What kind of encyclical is Laudato Si'?
The encyclical Laudato Si' says that it is our responsibility is to care for our world and not ‘steal’ resources from future generations. It speaks of the intrinsic value of all creatures, not just humans, and of protecting the climate and biodiversity as part of the common good.
Proposing lines of action at personal, political and economic levels, it demands a redefinition of progress that responds to both the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
15th November 2022
Australians at COP27
It has been great to see the influence that Australians are having at the climate talks, after a few years of not really being much of a player in climate change talks at all. The new Climate Change Ambassador, Kristin Tilley, is getting out and about talking to Pacific civil society and church leaders. And Chris Bowen, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, has recently been selected to co-chair crucial climate negotiations and deliver a credible agreement on the issue by Friday.
Holy See-Australia meeting
I’ve been working with Neil (CAFOD) and Musamba (CI) on the Holy See delegation requesting a short meeting with Minister Bowen to urge Australia to take action to protect climate-vulnerable countries. They are both enthusiastic about it and want the Holy See to be doing more of this work– they have just met with the Fiji delegation too to hear about their concerns.
Catholic Perspectives
It has been exhilarating to work with representatives from Catholic organisations from around the world, including the Laudato Si Movement, the Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt, Carmelites, Vivat International, and Unanima International to provide an assessment of COP27 progress on key issues in accordance with Catholic Social Teachings on climate justice – and in particular Laudato Si'. We have been asked to analyse the climate finance advances at the conference and how they fit into the economic theory in Laudato Si, as well as our work from the Twin Clouds report on climate change and debt in the Pacific.
Caritas at COP27 – Holy See Delegation meeting with Fiji
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
14th November 2022
Today was a special day. I did a pre-dawn hike up Mt Sinai with a group of Catholic delegates to see the sun rise and then we went on to St Katherine’s monastery, a stunning Orthodox monastery, widely considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery in the world.
It was a pleasure to enjoy the beauty of nature and the rich history of Egypt in the same morning, and a welcome break from the COP discussions and side events which are fascinating but can be a little overstimulating. I think we all appreciate the opportunity to get out of the conference rooms and appreciate the splendour of nature, which is after all a key part of why we are all fighting so hard for climate justice in the first place.
Catholic delegates before leaving for dawn hike up Mt Sinai. Photo: Damian Spruce/Caritas Australia.
Mt Sinai, Egypt. Photo: Damian Spruce/Caritas Australia.
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
13th November 2022
Today we met with the advisors of Senator John Kerry, the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. We were able to share powerful stories about how climate change is impacting communities around the world, with stories from Fiji to Tuvalu, Mozambique to Malawi.
Jesse Young and Christina Chan listened to our stories, and gave us a good understanding of how complex it is to get a Loss & Damage facility through the complex legislative processes in the USA.
Meetings like these are so valuable for building our relationships and our understanding of how to do climate activism successfully.
Dr Damian Spruce and other Pacific delegates at a meeting with Senator John Kerry's advisors. Photo: Damian Spruce/Caritas Australia.
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
12th November 2022
What happened during the Global Day of Action at COP27?
Today was the Global Day of Action, and the first large-scale protest took place here inside the Blue Zone - an area usually reserved for official proceedings and not accessible to all activists.
At midday on the long road between two of the venue's buildings, people gathered to take part in the march, calling out for climate justice and urgent action.
Loss and damage was a prominent theme in the speeches at the march - people want action now on loss and damage, and they don't want more conversations and discussions without any meaningful change.
Dr Damian Spruce at the Global Day of Action March at COP27. Photo: Damian Spruce/Caritas Australia.
Today I also had a moment of "bus stop diplomacy". I ran into Senator Melissa Hurtado on the bus, and as we travelled together I briefed her on the importance of climate finance to Pacific Island communities hit by storm surge and climate change - she’s going to take our message to the California State Senate and beyond. Most Tongan, Samoan and other Pacific Island communities in the US call California home.
Dr Damian Spruce with Senator Melissa Hurtado. Photo: Damian Spruce/Caritas Australia.
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
11th November 2022
Today, I had the pleasure of hearing from Cardinal Fridolin Besungu Ambongo on the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture at the Food & Agriculture Pavilion.
There’s lots going on here in the food crisis space - it’s the first year that food systems and agriculture have been a distinct theme at COP - i.e. their own negotiating stream and set of events and discussions. A group led by Caritas Africa is trying to strengthen this further by adding a food systems mechanism to the UNFCC. This means the UN Climate Change agency would have a unit to coordinate food security and climate change planning and action, and there’d be a forum for countries to prepare their agricultural industries and food systems for climate change.
Why do we need a food systems mechanism in the UNFCC?
A food systems mechanism in the UNFCC would help countries to prepare their food systems for climate change impacts. This could be collaborating on drought resistant crops, negotiating water sharing and developing food systems that are going to be able to withstand climate change emergencies.
Many regions already seriously impacted by food insecurity as a result of climate change, including Africa and the Pacific, strongly support this mechanism.
Why is agriculture relevant to climate change?
Climate change, agricultural production and food security are inextricably linked. Addressing food security in the context of a changing climate is one of the defining challenges of our times, and one that we will only be able to address when we consider all the complex factors that contribute not just to climate change, but to the impacts that climate change has on vulnerable communities.
Hunger and malnutrition are the result of broken food systems. Right now, there is enough food in the world for everybody. The problem is our systems. But if we transform these systems, they can become vital solutions for our planet. If we can support small-scale food producers–farmers, pastoralists, and fisherfolk–to build climate-resilient and sustainable food systems that protect their livelihoods and food security, we will be able to build durable food systems that will reduce global hunger as a result of climate change.
What is the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA)?
One of these proposals that is getting a lot of discussion time here at CAOP27 is the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture. The Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) is a landmark decision which recognises how important agriculture is in tackling climate change. It was established at COP23 in Fiji in 2017 as a new process to advance discussions on agriculture in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Through the Koronivia process, agriculture has already achieved a very special status under the UNFCCC as the only sector to be discussed holistically. While this is an achievement, it’s not enough given the urgency of the climate, nature, and food crises around the world.
Now that the Koronivia process is coming to an end, it is imperative that we bring these discussions into implementation. Only then will we make sure that more climate finance goes to support agriculture, and that national governments start including food systems in their climate strategies.
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
10th November 2022
While I'm attending the UN Climate talks here in Egypt, it's been heartening to remember how important climate change action is for Australians.
This has never been clearer than today, when our polling results came out, which showed that climate change is the biggest global concern for two thirds of Australians, easily outranking armed conflict, even as war rages in Ukraine.
One of the big issues at COP27 is who should pay the costs of global warming. Our research found that nine in ten Australians believe the biggest polluters should pay for the impacts of climate change. This shows that the vast majority of Australians really care about the impacts of climate change, and that they want action on the climate injustice of the least responsible for climate change paying the price for wealth nations' actions.
It's especially relevant in the Pacific and Africa, which together account for less that 5 per cent of total global emissions. Somalia is on the precipice of a famine declaration and Malawi is facing the threat of five cyclone sin the next two weeks alone. In the Pacific, our partners are telling us that they are picking up the bones of their ancestors like shells on the beach, as burial grounds are being washed away by rising tides.
Our research was covered in the Canberra Times, on ABC and SBS radio.
Caritas at COP27 – update from Dr Damian Spruce - Day Four
Why is Loss & Damage such a big topic at COP27?
‘Loss and Damage’ refers to the impacts of climate change which cannot be avoided by mitigation, adaptation and measures like disaster risk management. It refers to both economic and non-economic costs, and it includes irreversible losses to culture, identity and biodiversity.
It comes from both extreme weather events like cyclones, floods and droughts, as well as slow onset climate shifts like sea level rise and salinisation of drinking water.
Why is ‘Loss and Damage’ crucial for climate justice?
‘Loss and Damage’ is at its heart about climate injustice. The countries and regions that have contributed least to the climate crisis are now experiencing massive losses and damage from climate impacts. Ultimately, they are being asked to pay for a crisis that they didn't create, but they are paying with their homes, their futures and their livelihoods, not just in cash.
Finance for rehabilitation, reconstruction and unavoidable relocation is currently missing from the financial architecture of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Loss and Damage calls for this omission to be rectified, in addition to mitigation and adaptation finance, and in addition to Official Development Assistance. Loss and Damage also calls for access to funds in the form of grants, rather than loans, so that vulnerable communities do not fall further into debt.
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
9 November 2022
Today was another busy day. One of the highlights was the fantastic Caritas Internationalis side event "Addressing loss & damage to deliver climate justice human rights, youth, gender & faith leaders’ perspectives" in partnership with Christian Aid, Action Aid, and Church of Sweden.
Mrs. Chimwemwe, the National Director of Caritas Malawi spoke beautifully at the event, which was packed - literally standing room only! It was inspiring to hear her describe the impacts of climate change on Malawi so clearly and passionately, and to advocate for urgent Loss & Damage support.
Mrs. Chimwemwe, the National Director of Caritas Malawi, speaking at a side event at COP27. Photo Caritas Internationalis.
It was also a day of checking in with other Caritas members and coordinating where will will be and when. In many ways COP is very overwhelming, because at any moment you could be joining what seems like endless side events, talks, meetings or even conversations with interesting or potentially influential people that you meet. But it's also impossible to do everything, and so it is fantastic that I'm able to work with other Caritas members, incredible Pacific activists and members of the Kioa Declaration, so that together we can spread our message more widely.
Caritas delegates at COP27 in Egypt. Photo: Caritas Internationalis.
The situation in the Pacific - What is climate finance?
Climate finance is about repaying the debt owed by countries that caused climate change to those that experience its worst effects, a debt that high-income countries have been shirking for years.
Pacific Island countries are on the front lines of climate change, despite contributing very little to global warming. Many of these nations are also vulnerable to debt as they try to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Small island nations in the Pacific have contributed only 0.5 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, yet they are already losing their homes due to rising sea levels, extreme weather events like cyclones, coral bleaching, droughts, and crop failures.
Pacific Island countries are also facing serious potential debt burdens as they try to pay for the increase in frequency and severity of disasters. After Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu in 2015, government debt almost doubled, and within four years government debt to GDP was over 50%.
Climate finance is about fixing this issue – by getting money into the hands of people who need it most so that they can adapt to climate impacts.
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
8 November 2022
Today was the launch of the Kioa Emergency Declaration 2022, at the Moana Pavilion here at COP27. The event was powerful, with at least a dozen of us on the stage, in our Kioa shirts, sharing the stories of our region. Together, we urged the audience to take urgent action on climate adaptation and mitigation before the communities in the Pacific region lose their livelihoods, homes and way of life.
Kioa Climate Emergency Declaration launch at COP27 talks in Egypt. Photo: PICAN.
What is the Kioa Declaration?
The Pacific region has previously called for climate action with the Suva Climate Change Declaration (2015), Boe Declaration (2018), Kainaki II Declaration (2019) and the 2050 Blue Pacific Strategy (2022). However, many of these declarations have been made by political leaders, rather than organisations working with the communities who are most affected by climate change.
The Kioa Emergency Declaration is the first ever community-led climate declaration in the region. It was developed by major Pacific civil society organisations, including the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs (PIANGO), Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN), the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), Caritas Oceania, 350 Pacific and many grassroots Pacific Island organisations, came together from the 17-19 October in Fiji to put together the Kioa Climate Emergency Declaration 2022.
Caritas Australia was the only major Australian development NGO that participated in the Kioa Declaration, and it was a privilege to have been present on the island of Kioa during the discussions, and now to be a part of sharing the discussions with the wider world.
Kioa Declaration at COP27
Meeting Pacific climate warriors - who is Ursula Rakova?
I also had the great honour of meeting Ursula Rakova, from the Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea. The islands are expected to be uninhabitable by 2040 due to rising sea levels, which makes Ursula and her community some of the world’s first climate refugees.
She is also a pioneer in terms of climate migration and advocacy, and responsible for the incredible feat of organising the relocation of many inhabitants of the Carteret Islands to the mainland of Bougainville Province.
Caritas Australia's Advocacy Associate Director, Dr Damian Spruce, presenting Twin Clouds report to new Australian Ambassador for Climate Change, Kristin Tilley at COP27 in Egypt. Photo: Damian Spruce/Caritas Australia.
Meeting the Australian Ambassador for Climate Change
Just a handful of days into her new role, I had the pleasure of meeting Kristin Tilley, the new Australian Ambassador for Climate Change. Together with representatives from the Kioa delegation, we briefed her on climate finance and Pacific debt, which are covered in our recent report, Twin Clouds, as well as the Kioa declaration. We were also able to brief her on the challenges for local communities to access climate finance in the Pacific, and the risks of climate disasters and the already high debt levels in the region to create a vicious cycle for Pacific.
What is it like at COP?
It’s been very interesting interacting with people at the side events and building networks but I’m also conscious that the real action is happening in the negotiating rooms, and it can be easy for the sad and urgent stories from the Pacific to be confined to the pavilions and stands and not get into the negotiating halls. Luckily I have a ‘pink’ badge from a State party and am therefore able to access many of the negotiating rooms. Glen, the head of Climate Action Network Australia (CANA), talked to me about this and is putting me in touch with the CANA person coordinating the tracking of negotiations, so I can volunteer to be a note-taker, following what is being raised in bilateral discussions.
Caritas at COP27 – update from Dr Damian Spruce – Day One
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
7 November 2022
For the next two weeks, I have the pleasure and honour of representing Caritas Oceania at the 27th United Nations Climate Talks in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.
The start of the COP27 discussions have been fascinating. It is a pleasure to meet people from the Caritas network all over the world, including Caritas Africa and Caritas MONA.
Early in the day we met with the General Secretary of Caritas Internationalis, Aloysius John, to discuss our key asks as a network at COP. So many issues are shared – whether it’s farmers in East Africa facing devastating droughts or villages in the Pacific shoring up their seawalls with old tyres, we are facing the same devastating consequences of climate across the world.
Caritas Africa, Caritas MONA and Caritas Oceania at COP27 speaking to Aloysius John. Photo: Caritas Internationalis.
How does climate change impact the Pacific and Africa regions?
Together, Africa and the Pacific region have contributed just over 4 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Yet communities across these vast regions are on the front lines of climate change, despite contributing very little to global warming.
In the Pacific, communities are already losing their homes due to rising sea levels, extreme weather events like cyclones, coral bleaching, droughts, and crop failures. Somalia is in the grip of the worst drought in four decades – and its third serious drought since just 2011.
Across both regions, crops are failing, fish are disappearing, livestock are perishing and water is harder to source. In East Africa communities are waiting for rain to fall, and in the Pacific, communities are surrounded by water that they cannot drink, as rising sea levels contaminate their water sources and make them undrinkable.
This is all due to climate change.
I’ve been talking to my colleagues about topics as wide-ranging as the importance of considering the impacts of climate change on food security and food systems, and how Loss & Damage works in different contexts. It’s possible that the Pacific region may need a separate Loss and Damage facility to capture the different ways that communities face loss of culture and livelihoods in our region.
What is Loss and Damage?
“Loss and damage” refers to climate change impacts that are beyond what people can adapt to, and include loss of livelihoods, traditional knowledge and cultural life. “Loss and Damage finance” is about recognising the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities and supporting these communities to recover and adapt.
Caritas at COP27 – update from Dr Damian Spruce
As climate change damages our homes and land, it is having extreme impact on our neighbours in the Pacific. Our voices, together, can get governments and polluters to take action to achieve climate justice and protect our common home.
