Australia Refuses to Release Climate Fund Papers, Citing Diplomatic Damage

Australia has refused to release internal papers about a trust fund for a climate-vulnerable Pacific nation, telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the documents could inflict diplomatic “damage”.

Gravely threatened by rising seas, low-lying island nation Tuvalu relies on a US$200 million trust fund to help foot the ballooning costs of climate change.

The trust has been invested on Tuvalu’s behalf in funds exposed to coal mining, gas exploration and the world’s largest crude oil refinery, an AFP investigation revealed.

Australia is the largest contributor to the Tuvalu Trust Fund and plays a key role overseeing how it is spent, filling one of three seats on its board of directors.

Using Freedom of Information laws, AFP asked the Australian government to release a series of internal reports shedding light on trust fund investment decisions.

Australia’s foreign affairs department delivered some publicly available documents but declined to release the internal papers, citing exemptions to protect diplomacy.