Australia is committed to doing its part to meet the UNFCCC goal to mobilise at least $US100 billion per year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020. In 2016 Australia co-led, with the UK, the development of a ‘Roadmap to $US100 billion’ of climate finance. The Roadmap provided increased predictability and transparency about how the goal will be reached, and sets out the range of actions donor countries will take to meet it, showing that donor countries are well placed to meet the goal, through a combination of public and mobilised private finance.

Australia pledged in 2015 to provide at least $1 billion in climate finance over five years, which we implement through our foreign aid program. This includes $130 million of our $200 million contribution over four years (2015-2018) to the Green Climate Fund (which we co-chaired in 2016 and 2017). A proportion of Australia’s core contributions to the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Global Green Growth Institute and UN agencies are providing climate change assistance to developing countries (estimated $95 million in 2016/17).

Australia has contributed to a number of Paris Conference initiatives including $5 million over four years (2016-2020) to the Climate Risk and Early Warning System (CREWS) initiative, $2 million to the World Resources Institute’s Nationally Determined Contributions Partnership (NDC Partnership) and $2 million to the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT). We have been supporting the participation of women in climate-related decision-making processes through the training of women negotiators in the region.

Australia’s climate finance commitment includes targeted climate-specific investments across the aid program and mainstreaming of climate action in key sectors (e.g. clean energy, infrastructure, agriculture, water, health, governance). Australia’s climate finance is entirely grant based, balanced between mitigation and adaptation, and is prioritised to countries most vulnerable to climate change, with over two thirds of bilateral, regional and global programs to benefit Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Australia is integrating climate change action and disaster risk reduction across our entire aid program to ensure our development and humanitarian assistance supports partners to reduce emissions and address the impacts of climate change. Integrating into our development assistance will protect investments, build long-term resilience to climate and disaster impacts, and help our development partners to manage climate risks and transition to a low emissions economy.

By integrating climate considerations into our investments, we ensure development impacts are lasting. We do this through climate risk screening, by climate-proofing new investments and by designing programs to ensure development outcomes are attained even under changing climatic conditions. We also implement mandatory safeguards to ensure that we protect the environment when delivering the aid program overseas. For more information on these safeguards, see Environmental protection.

Australia works closely with Pacific island countries and regional organisations to take climate action. We have sustained and increased funding to sectors affected by climate change. In 2016, Australia committed to provide $300 million over four years for climate change mitigation, adaptation and disaster resilience support to the Pacific. Australia will commence work on several new initiatives during 2018–19. The Australia Pacific Regional Climate Change Action Program ($75 million) will deliver a range of activities including continued investment in climate science and investments in climate governance, gender and social inclusion. The Pacific Blue Carbon Initiative ($6 million) will boost efforts to protect and manage coastal blue carbon ecosystems in the Pacific.