14 November 2022
At the Cop 27 Conference, New Zealand joined just a handful of other countries in giving aid to developing countries battling with climate change impacts.
Germany, Belgium, Denmark and Scotland are the only other countries to kick in on loss and damage, with the contributions seen as being of more symbolic than financial significance.
The money for New Zealand's funding comes from revenue gathered from the emissions trading scheme.
Wealthy nations, including the US and EU, have repeatedly blocked helping developing nations, worried they could be on the hook for billions of dollars in ongoing compensation.
Some estimates put the figures at half a trillion US dollars' worth of damage in just the past decade alone.
Climate change is already radically threatening the basis for Solomon Islands peoples' lives, but also their culture, language and mental and physical wellbeing.
I believe the SIG must make a concerted, determined and urgent effort to illustrate to the outside world what the impact if climate change is having, day by day, month my month on the lives of the people and communities at home, facing rising sea levels, inland flooding, contamination of fresh water sources, destruction of food gardens, sinking islands, damage and destruction of shore defences, evacuations, damage to homes and personal property, isolation from health services, to mention merely a few of the climate change impacts and especially affecting our more remote coastal areas.
Piece meal articles in which illustrations of the impact of climate change is apparent, which I have often written and filed, is not adequate for the world to see and realise how climate change has already changed the landscape of the Solomon Islands, but the very serious influence on lives.
A very strong case for financial aid must be out to those nations, like New Zealand, that has offered financial assistance for mitigating climate change, including one would hope assisting the SIG with shore defences, evacuations, property restoration, food sustainability and medical access and services.
The Solomon Islands is well blessed with professional and competent journalist who should, in my opinion, be tasked and aided by the government to put together a presentable assessment and compilation of that so far the eye has not seen about how the Solomon Islands has been neglected from mitigating help by way of necessary understanding and financial support to qualify for aid assistance.
Procrastination is the thief of time and so my message is simply don’t put off presenting the whole picture of the nations plight occasioned by climate change.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
