On March 23, ecbi Director Professor Benito Müller met Archbishop Sione Ulu’ilakepa, Vicar General Reverend Fe’ilokitau Kaho Tevi, David Levinger, Marcus Saul, and Liliam Hertel to discuss the future of Climate Solidarity Alliances (CSAs), specifically in Oceania.

With many island states in the South Pacific are already engaging in discussions on intraregional solidarity on environmental challenges, the CSA discussion revolved around strengthening and expanding this network. The CSA Summary for Policy Makers describes the dual function of such alliances, including the proposed alliance in Oceania: Climate Solidarity Trust Funds (such as Fiji’s national Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund) to support adaptation and responses to Loss and Damage and a Solidarity Bonus Mechanism as North-South and South-South solidarity payments to incentivize participation by the most vulnerable developing countries. The importance and viability of implementing CSAs at the sub-national level in the United States were also discussed. The participants decided to collectively pursue the establishment of an AP-CSA, starting with Fiji and Australia.