10910 (2024). Teanau Tuiono to the Minister of Climate Change

10910 (2024). Teanau Tuiono to the Minister of Climate Change: In response to Question 1404 (2024). What specific measures or strategies has the New Zealand government implemented or planned to address the security challenges posed by climate change in the Pacific region, as outlined in the assessments mentioned?

Hon Simon Watts: New Zealand provides support to Pacific Island countries to increase their resilience to climate change through International Development Cooperation (IDC) programme. The IDC programme funds a range of climate initiatives to improve Pacific climate security including activities focused on food, water, energy, and environmental security, strengthening governance, and increasing resilience to disasters. This support is drawn from New Zealand’s NZ$1.3bn international climate finance commitment for the period 2022-2025. It is forecast that more than 60% of this will go towards to Pacific activities and more than 60% for adaptation, in line with Pacific priorities. In the Pacific Islands Forum, New Zealand works with Pacific partners on the implementation of the 2018 Boe Declaration which recognises climate change as the single greatest threat to livelihoods, security, and well-being in the Pacific. Through the South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM), New Zealand and other members approved a 2019 SPDMM study on the impact of climate change on defence and security architecture. This document presents recommendations on the security impact of climate change in the South Pacific by 2030, and a working group is continuing to progress these recommendations. New Zealand and other SPDMM members also approved the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) interoperability guide in 2023. This serves as the basis for planning and participating in exercises with Pacific nations with military forces. New Zealand also participates in a range of HADR exercises including Exercise Tropic Twilight which seeks to rebuild communities affected by a natural disaster and enable a host nation to better respond to HADR events.