New Zealand is set to quadruple its spending on international climate aid. In doing so, the country wants to do something about what it claims to be a “sadly inadequate” response to climate change’s challenges to the world.
On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that her country’s budget for climate aid would be increased to $ 930 million over a four-year period. At least half of that money will go to Pacific island nations. Many of these islands are threatened by rising sea levels.
The Climate Action Tracker website labels New Zealand’s current climate aid budget as “critically insufficient”. As a result of the increase, New Zealand’s per capita contribution will be approximately equal to that of a country such as the United Kingdom.
The announcement of the budget increase comes two weeks before the United Nations climate summit, COP26, starts in Glasgow, Scotland.