- The Guardian
- Issue #2187
Pacific governments and civil society have come together in Vanuatu as part of a key regional meeting ahead of the landmark First International Conference for the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia against the backdrop of a global energy crisis which has seen Pacific Island nations hit especially hard.
The meeting, held from April 13-15, saw a new landmark declaration: ‘The Tassiriki Call for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific.’ Leaders cited the energy crisis as evidence of the dangers of fossil fuel dependence and the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels.
The global energy crisis driven by the US and Israel’s illegal war on Iran has raised the stakes for a region that is among the most vulnerable to climate change but is also one of the most fuel-exposed economies in the world. Many Pacific nations are grappling with fuel shortages that threaten power and basic services due to rising fuel costs, with Tuvalu declaring a 14-day state of emergency.
Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific who attended the meeting said, “Never before has the need to end the fossil fuel chokehold been so abundantly clear, as our Pacific communities again suffer the consequences of a global economy hooked on coal, oil, and gas.
“It’s always ordinary people who suffer the costs of war – whether innocent civilians killed by bombs, or our communities seeing food and power bills soar, while already bearing the brunt of a cost of living and climate crisis.
“This meeting comes at a critical moment, and was an opportunity for a renewed push for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific. The government leaders and civil society present at the meeting continued to strongly affirm the Pacific’s status as a global leader on climate action. Momentum is building ahead of Santa Marta, and as Australia prepares to preside over the next round of international climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye, in partnership with the Pacific.
“Urgent action to transition away from fossil fuels is fundamental to limiting warming to 1.5°C – a survival line for Pacific communities, but also a path of liberation that frees us from expensive, extractive and polluting fossil fuel imports and uplifts our communities. The Pacific has played a vital role in getting to this point, shaping international agreements and holding the line on 1.5°C.
“The phase out of fossil fuels depends on determined international cooperation, particularly when it comes to unlocking the finance needed to support countries and communities with implementing solutions. It is vital the transition is grounded in Pacific knowledge and led by the local communities who live these realities every day.”
PARASITE OF THE WEEK: The Liberal-National-One Nation coalition as they push a racist anti-immigration program which would be a return to the White Australia Policy. This was a set of racist policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin – especially Asians and Pacific Islanders – from migrating to Australia in order to create an Anglo-Celtic ideal as a white outpost of the empire. Governments dismantled these policies between 1949 and 1973.
Soon after Australia federated in January 1901, the federal government of Edmond Barton passed the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901. The passage of this bill marked the commencement of the White Australia Policy as Australian federal government policy. These policies effectively gave British migrants preference over all others through the first four decades of the 20th century. During World War II, Prime Minister John Curtin said, “This country shall remain forever the home of the descendants of those people who came here in peace (!) in order to establish in the South Seas an outpost of the British race.”
The Whitlam government in 1973 passed laws to ensure that race would be totally disregarded as a component for immigration to Australia. In 1975, the Whitlam government passed the Racial Discrimination Act, which made racially-based selection criteria unlawful.
