Latest news with #29thUnitedNationsClimateChangeConference
Sky News AU
08-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Taxpayers hefty bill to send bureaucrats and minsters to climate summit revealed, as Chris Bowen defends use of funds
The federal government spent almost $2 million sending 75 bureaucrats and two ministers to the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan in 2024. A collection of answers to questions on notice asked by former shadow finance minister Jane Hume has uncovered that the Albanese government spent a whopping $1.5 million sending a delegation of bureaucrats to last year's COP29 climate summit. An average of $20,000 was spent to send each of the 75 civil servants to the conference, with a further $102,343.69 spent to send transport Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen and his staff to Baku. More than $20,000 was also used to fly the Assistant Climate Change Minister Josh Wilson to the same conference. The total bill came in at an exorbitant $1,672,000. The mammoth contingent included 42 representatives from the Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water, 25 officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and two civil servants respectively from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Finance. A representative from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Department of Health and Aged Care also jetted to the South Caucasus country. Documents from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority also showed that Mr Bowen's travel expenses for the COP29 summit stood at $33,049.03, with his staff raking up a $68,601.66 tab. Mr Bowen only attended the conference's second week. Shadow finance minister James Paterson blasted the government and relevant department heads for their excessive use of taxpayer funds and labelled the conference, which resulted in few binding climate initiatives a 'talkfest with nothing to show for it.' 'On Labor's watch, power prices and emissions are both up – and so is spending extravagant sums of taxpayers' money on climate junkets,' Mr Paterson told The Australian. 'The Albanese government must justify why they sent almost 100 people and spent millions of dollars on a delegation to a talkfest.' 'While Australians were struggling to pay their electricity bills, Chris Bowen, Josh Wilson, and at least seven government departments and agencies were travelling on the taxpayer dime with nothing to show for it.' However, Mr Bowen refused to accept accusations of waste and slammed the Coalition's attitude on climate change. 'The LNP doesn't believe in net zero anymore and now apparently they don't believe in sending ministers to COP either,' a spokesperson for Mr Bowen told The Australian. 'Given [former prime minister] Scott Morrison took 39 people to the Glasgow COP they are also nothing more than hypocrites.' It was separately discovered that the government spent substantially less in previous years on international climate conferences than that of 2024. This includes spending $1,075,000 for its pavilion at the COP26 at Glasgow in Scotland in 2021, $971,682 on the COP27 climate conference in harm el-Sheikh, Egypt in 2022 and $831,549 for COP28 in Dubai. Australia is currently competing with Turkey to secure hosting rights for the COP31 conference in 2026. The government has stated it is unable to provide the total expected cost related to holding the summit.
Barnama
24-06-2025
- Business
- Barnama
Nauru Launches Bold Climate Resilience Initiative To Secure National Future At COP29
KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) -- Nauru, the world's smallest republic, has unveiled an ambitious climate resilience initiative at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), calling on global investors and climate entrepreneurs to join its nation-transforming efforts. President of Nauru, David Adeang in a statement said the island nation can no longer afford to wait as rising sea levels threaten homes and critical infrastructure. 'We will not wait for the waves to wash away our homes and infrastructure. While the world debates climate action, we must take proactive steps to secure our nation's future,' he said in a strong message to the global community. A member of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, Nauru is embarking on a comprehensive plan that includes the relocation of nearly its entire population from low-lying coastal areas to safer terrain under its 'Higher Ground Initiative'. Spearheading the financing of the initiative is the Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program, led by New Zealander Edward Clark, a veteran in international banking, financial crime and compliance. Appointed Chief Executive Officer of the programme, Clark said the initiative offers a tightly managed citizenship platform targeting climate-conscious investors and entrepreneurs with the aim of transforming Nauru into a hub for sustainable innovation. 'We want those who are passionate about the global future to become citizens. Our goal is to turn Nauru from being a passive recipient of climate funding into an incubator for climate innovation,' he said. Clark explained that the programme enables 'climate citizens' to contribute to and test new technologies and sustainable infrastructure within Nauru, helping ecopreneurs access seed funding while the country benefits from scalable solutions. He also said the programme has already received applications from individuals around the world who are eager to invest in climate resilience and contribute to a greater purpose.
Ya Biladi
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
SIAM 2025 : Adoption of the declaration from the 5th AAA Initiative conference
The 5th Annual Ministerial Conference of the AAA Initiative (Adaptation of African Agriculture), held Wednesday in Meknes on the sidelines of the International Agricultural Show in Morocco (SIAM) 2025, concluded with the adoption of a declaration by Ministers of Agriculture and representatives of international and regional institutions. In this context, the officials endorsed a series of commitments, both in response to the outcomes of the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) and in preparation for COP30. These commitments aim to fulfill climate pledges and ensure equitable access to climate finance, transform agricultural systems toward sustainability and climate resilience, strengthen food security, support the most vulnerable stakeholders, and intensify international cooperation and advocacy. To that end, they called for reinforcing this dynamic through the development of Climate-Resilient Agricultural Investment Plans, the creation of strategic partnerships to mobilize financing, and stronger advocacy on the international stage—particularly at upcoming Conferences of the Parties and within specialized bodies of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In response to the climate emergency, the officials advocated for greater synergy among major regional initiatives, such as the Abidjan Initiative and the three African Climate Commissions born from the 2016 Marrakech Summit: the Congo Basin Commission, the Sahel Region Commission, and the Island States Commission. They emphasized that this complementarity should contribute to a coherent, ambitious, and distinctly African strategy. They also highlighted Morocco's leadership in South-South cooperation as both an inspiration and a strategic lever for promoting innovative financing solutions tailored to the realities of African agriculture. In this spirit, the AAA Initiative was called upon to fully assume its role as a catalyst by fostering dialogue between experts and policymakers, and by establishing concrete support and training programs for farmers and producers' organizations. Finally, the Ministers and representatives reaffirmed their commitment to the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, pledging to protect Africa's most vulnerable populations and safeguard the planet for future generations.
