FIJI Trades Union Congress (FTUC) National secretary Felix Anthony has issued a direct challenge to regional partner Australia, demanding genuine solidarity over “charity” in the face of the escalating Pacific climate crisis.
Addressing global and regional delegates, Mr Anthony warned that the Pacific operated as a “canary in the coal mine” for the rest of the world, suffering severe impacts from rising seas and intensifying tropical storms.
He asserted that working-class Pacific communities are unfairly footing the bill for climate damages driven by foreign fossil fuel corporations, relying on local union fundraising to survive post-disaster flooding.
While acknowledging Australia’s efforts to advance regional climate cooperation, Mr Anthony condemned the Australian government’s continued spending of billions annually on subsidies for diesel in coal mines and tax breaks for gas exporters.
“Solidarity with the Pacific would mean spending that money on a just transition instead—not out of charity, but as a wise investment in the future that we share,” Mr Anthony stated.
He also calling for rich nations to end corporate subsidies that treat Pacific lives and cultures as collateral damage.
Highlighting local structural gaps, Mr Anthony noted that despite Fiji’s abundant sunlight, solar energy still accounts for less than 2 per cent of national power generation.
He urged international allies to deliver direct adaptation and transition finance to put solar infrastructure and battery backups on every home, school, and hospital across the country.
Concluding his address, Mr Anthony stressed that true solidarity requires international partners to recognise their shared fate with the Pacific, urging global powers to redirect fossil fuel subsidies into tangible funding for vulnerable frontline nations.
