She is there with 25 Caritas delegates who have mostly flown in from around the South Pacific region for the meeting.

As part of its contribution to the meeting, Caritas ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) is calling for more transparent and effective climate finance channels to deliver funds and results directly to the local level in the Pacific.

It wants to see priority given to the poorest and most vulnerable without adding to the burden of debt.

Called "Twin clouds on the horizon: averting a combined climate and debt crisis in the Pacific through locally-delivered climate finance," Caritas ANZ and six other members of the Caritas Oceania regional network released the report in Port Moresby on Tuesday at the network's annual forum.

"The real fight against climate change is happening at the grass roots and coastal edges, where people are protecting their lives and livelihoods as best they can," says Antonio.

"We just need key decision-makers to recognise the value of local solutions and get in behind to support that. COP21 in Paris was a breakthrough moment in climate action. We are hoping for another breakthrough moment around COP27 to provide for the real needs of the poor. We will never let go of that hope."

Antonio says communities need to be able to directly access climate-related funds to support solutions they have identified themselves.

"Local groups and civil society also need to be actively involved to deliver, monitor and evaluate climate finance projects. We've seen the value of local involvement in design and implementation for our long-term development programmes. It's not only valuable, it's necessary."

Accountability works two ways, Antonio says.

"Funders need to be assured that money is going to the purposes intended, while local communities need to be assured that climate-related projects meet their needs, can adapt to changing circumstances and provide for their future."

Among the stories the report profiles is one from Papua New Guinea's Manus Island Marine Environment Awareness and Response team.

Its work includes helping communities build traditional seawalls against coastal flooding and plant mangroves to prevent coastal erosion. A big problem, however, is obtaining funding. It's a struggle, the team says.

The newly-released report also shows the multiple benefits of smaller organisations working with larger NGOs to access funds.

Twin Clouds builds on a decade of environmental monitoring across the Pacific. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand leads this work through the Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania series.

This series tracks climate finance trends and reports how local communities experience and respond to climate crises. These include extreme weather, coastal erosion and sea level rises, access to safe food and water, and mining and drilling of the ocean floor.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand also shares these stories through "The Oceanian Monitor" map and other online resources.

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

"We want those big nations to really see and to really hear," the Tongan-based prelate said in an interview with The Tablet.

"Not to pretend. Not to turn away. We want them not to be deafened to the cry of reality by other agendas. Can they turn an ear of love, not of political expediency? Are they prepared to hear the voice of the voiceless?"

The Cop26 climate conference is regarded by many as the last chance to avoid the worst that climate change presents.

For the senior Catholic church leader in the Pacific, it is vital that the peoples of the Pacific are not overlooked in Glasgow.

The islands are among the most vulnerable in the world, and Cardinal Mafi has emerged as one of their most eloquent advocates.

Mafi was consecrated just three months before the publication of Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si. The document calls for a widespread rebirth of spirituality and social and environmental awareness to combat climate change and redress the horrendous imbalance of power and wealth in society.

The cardinal is a member of the executive of Caritas Internationalis and the president of Caritas Oceania. The group has seven member organisations: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga.

Across the Pacific Mafi sees climate change-induced problems in many Island states. These include deforestation in the Solomon Islands, people in Kiribati losing their homes, villages in Fiji forced to relocate owing to rising sea waters, vanishing foreshores and erosion.

Mafi recently spoke with Vatican Radio's Linda Bordoni about the 2021 Caritas Oceania Annual Forum.

"Environmental protection, care for our common home is always a top priority in Oceania," Cardinal Mafi explained. He pointed out that "one of our main treasures is the ocean". It is the main source of the people's livelihoods as well as our home.

Mafi explained that while the region has different ethnic groups, "we are so rich in that way with our diversity in culture."

But they also have much in common, he added, "A common shared reality: we are all in this vast ocean, the Pacific, and I think the faith element is a strong element of our communality."

He fears losing the traditional communal lifestyle would deprive people of the one resource they had to cope and prosper.

"This is worth more than so-called economic development and foreign-owned infrastructure."

Sources

• Asia Pacific Report
• Vatican News