Australia offers climate funding to Pacific islands

Australia announced a Aus$500 million ($340 million) climate change package for Pacific countries Tuesday but received a lukewarm response from low-lying island nations demanding urgent action from their powerful neighbour to curb its carbon emissions.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the funding, drawn from Australia's existing international aid budget, would help Pacific island nations invest in renewable energy and climate change resilience.

The climate-sceptic leader made the announcement before travelling to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu, where island nations threatened by rising seas have vowed to put global warming at the top of the agenda.

Smaller members of the 18-nation grouping have been sharply critical of Australia's climate policies ahead of this year's summit amid a diplomatic push from Canberra to counter China's growing power in the region.

High-level representatives from the likes of Tuvalu, Palau and Vanuatu have criticised Australia for not doing enough, with Fiji's Frank Bainimarama saying Canberra's reliance on coal poses an "existential threat" to low-lying islands.

There has also been disquiet in the Pacific that Australia recently approved the giant Adani coal mine in Queensland state.

Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga did not directly address islanders concerns.

"No matter how much money you put on the table it doesn't give you the excuse not to do the right thing," he told reporters in the tiny nation's capital Funafuti, which is hosting the PIF meet.

"(The right thing) is cutting down your emissions, including not opening your coal mines. That is the thing we want to see."
"This highlights our commitment to not just meeting our emissions reduction obligations at home but supporting our neighbours and friends."