Prime Minister Christopher Luxon Photo: AFP / Manaui Faulalo
Analysis - The prime minister and his deputy talked up a $20 million investment in resilience funding in the Pacific and backing an oceans declaration - but questions remain over emissions mitigation and the environmental threat posed by the Manawanui navy ship.
Christopher Luxon fronted media in Samoa on Saturday afternoon talking a big game on climate change. He said King Charles had delivered a "great speech" which focused partly on the threat of climate change that was "entirely appropriate".
"There's no doubt about it, climate change has been one of the dominant topics of conversation here at CHOGM," he said.
"You know, 33 of the 56 nations that are part of CHOGM are actually small nation states that are part of the reality of dealing with climate change.
"Whether it's the Caribbean, if you think about Barbados and places like that, if you think about what we're seeing in Tuvalu where there is an absolute existential threat, that's been very strongly registered."
He had just emerged from six hours of negotiations and discussion with the other 56 member nations of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting that concluded the event full of ceremony, pageantry and earnest discussions about improving the world.
It was hosted in Samoa - the first time it had been held in a small island nation, and a big ask for the country's infrastructure. Business owners had felt the disruption, with a market set up over six months in Apia to enable vendors to continue trading - and ideally make the most of the 6000 visitors to the country.
Luxon repeated his previous praise for the country's success in hosting the event.
"I think it's been a tremendous success, I think the people of Samoa have done an exceptionally good job, along with the government and also Prime Minister Fiamē hosting the event."
He said much of the discussion at the leaders' retreat had focused on the technicalities of climate markets and financing, partly as a result of the influence of small island nations which he said were considered on equal footing with larger partners like India and Australia at the CHOGM meeting.
"If you have a big hurricane come through the US as we've seen in recent months, the US is big enough to be able to power through that and recover," he said.
"But actually if it comes through the Caribbean or it comes through the Pacific as we've seen ... it's really difficult and if you're a hotel and you can't get insurance because the cost of rebuilding is a problem, well then we have an issue because then you don't get economic development and growth happening because of the climate risk."
Slavery reparations would, however, be a topic that would be handled between those Caribbean nations and Britain rather than through CHOGM, he said. Those involved were planning to speak about that at a separate forum near the beginning of next year.
Luxon said the $20m funding for the climate resilience fund was something he and Peters had spoken about since the Pacific Island Forum. It was first endorsed in 2019 at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu.
He described it as practical and a good sign of New Zealand backing the Pacific, being a good partner and friend.
"It's, exactly, us doing what we should be doing, which is, we know climate resilience is a actually a really good place for us to put our development and our support."
Winston Peters said the announcement had been prepared 10 days prior, "so it wasn't prompted by any event here, but our preparedness to get ready for what we committed ourselves to do". The deputy prime minister has faced criticism previously for his views on climate change, with accusations he was minimising the problem.
On Saturday he said the funding had needed signoff from Finance Minister Nicola Willis in the last Budget and he was sure other countries would join up too.
"The signup for example from Saudi Arabia is quite significant, it's really quite huge. And so we've got four countries on the way now, but we'll certainly get more ... we don't stop lobbying everybody, we lobby everywhere we go."
Australia has contributed $110m to the facility, Saudi Arabia contributed $84m and the United States $42m (NZD values), and Peters said the fund was well on its way to its goal of half a billion dollars in capital.
The island nations had stepped up at this CHOGM, he said.
"The reality is a lot has changed in the last three decades and the fact is that island nations and small states are really getting their voice in a way they've never had before."
Luxon said with Australia and New Zealand anchoring the fund it would encourage other like-minded partners to also contribute. The forum also delivered a much-anticipated Oceans communique, promising protection and safeguarding of the health of the oceans.
Luxon said the communique was "really special because it really captures the Pacific flavour into CHOGM given this is the first CHOGM being held in the Pacific islands outside of Australia and New Zealand".
"That deals with issues around pollution, health of the water, but obviously also rather specially acknowledges that as we see sea level rise in places like Tuvalu for example, their sovereign territories will be maintained - that as their land shrinks their EEZ (exclusive economic zones) will be maintained as to where it currently stands, which is important for sovereign reasons and for a number of reasons."
The declaration promised ambitious, transformative action; highlighting rising sea levels and warmer, more acidic waters. It noted 49 of the 56 commonwealth nations had ocean borders, and accounted for more than a third of national marine jurisdiction on the planet.
It recommitted the nations to climate action and mitigation, and looked towards work on marine renewable energy, and sustainable plastics design and fishing practices. It also pointed ahead to the UN Oceans Conference in France next year.
The difficulty for the government remains in the actions that seem to run somewhat counter to their words. While climate resilience is surely important, the threat of climate change is only made worse by emissions.
This government has yet to release its first Emissions Reduction Plan, which would set out its vision for how New Zealand will meet its internationally agreed obligations - but the rhetoric to this point has indicated a reliance on carbon markets the government's critics say are simply not enough to stem the flow.
And while a commitment to safeguard the health of the oceans is admirable, the wreck of the navy ship HMNZS Manawanui and the ongoing threat of environmental disaster it poses to the reef on south side of the very same island where CHOGM was held remains a stark reminder of New Zealand's own responsibilities to Pacific health.
Despite visits to the headquarters of the team responding to the sinking of the vessel and to the other navy ship, the HMNZS Canterbury, moored off the north coast to support the event, Luxon did not travel to the villages dealing with streams of diesel, nor to the site of the wreck itself.
Actions speak louder than words, and those critics of the government seem unlikely to be salved by New Zealand's statements from Samoa. The funding for resilience doesn't hurt, of course, and there's still time for the government to take action on both climate and ocean health.
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