{"id":84415,"date":"2021-03-19T03:57:27","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T03:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=175953"},"modified":"2021-03-19T03:57:27","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T03:57:27","slug":"strings-attached-the-reality-behind-nzs-climate-aid-in-the-pacific-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/03\/19\/strings-attached-the-reality-behind-nzs-climate-aid-in-the-pacific-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Strings attached: The reality behind NZ\u2019s climate aid in the Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"
New Zealand has long had a privileged relationship with its Pacific neighbours. Now, in the dawning era of the climate crisis affecting millions of lives across the Pacific, the country has its helping hand outstretched. But with the controversial record of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, does this hand have an ulterior motive? Matthew Scott<\/strong> investigates.<\/em><\/p>\n The beach is vanishing, one day at a time. The sea approaches the coastal village. It will not be negotiated with.<\/p>\n With seawater flooding the water table, crops that have fed the islanders for centuries are losing viability. The problem is invisible, under the people\u2019s feet. But it demands change.<\/p>\n Each year, the cyclones have seemed to get more volatile and less predictable. What used to be a cycle of weathering the storm and rebuilding has become a frenetic game of wits with the elements.<\/p>\n In 2012, 3.8 percent of the total GDP of the Pacific Islands region was spent on the rebuilding efforts needed after natural disasters.<\/p>\n In 2016, that number had risen to 15.6 percent.<\/p>\n The effects of climate change are increasing the volatility and unpredictability of tropical cyclones in the Pacific.<\/p>\n That number has nowhere to go but up.<\/p>\n This story is playing out all over the Pacific, where economically vulnerable nations are some of the first to become victims to the encroaching climate crisis. Countries like Kiribati and Tuvalu, which have contributed least to the carbon emissions driving climate change, are on the brink of becoming its first casualties.<\/p>\n With millions of lives in the balance, this is a moral issue. New Zealand has responded according to its conscience.<\/p>\n Or at least it appears so.<\/p>\n The New Zealand Aid Programme sends 70.7 percent of its aid to countries in the Pacific. This is a higher proportion of our foreign aid budget than any other country. As such, New Zealand is inextricably entwined with funding and encouraging processes of climate adaptation and mitigation in the region.<\/p>\n
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SPECIAL REPORT:<\/strong> By Matthew Scott<\/em><\/p>\n