It is obvious the extent of Government’s promise to be transparent does not extend to letting the public know how much is being spent on the COP27 trip to Egypt, writes Ruta Mave.

It started with a dream. The Pharoah of Egypt was confused when he saw seven fat cows be eaten by seven thin cows. The next night it repeated with seven sheafs of wheat. Determined it meant something he called for Joseph who was a slave imprisoned for supposedly having relations with the master’s wife – he had been framed because he refused the wife’s advances. Having said that, prison was a light sentence for such an offence in those days, leads you to think that not a lot has changed in our society where a man can ‘pat’ woman with a bush knife and only get a ‘pat on the hand.’

Joseph’s case proves the adage ‘God works in mysterious ways’ because we see after 13 years of slavery and prison God gives Joseph the important mission and assignment of saving the people of Egypt. His is a roller coaster test of endurance and love for God after first being sold into slavery by his brothers – you could forgive him for thinking he had been given a raw deal – but his faith led him to the day he interpreted the dream as a coming of seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine in Egypt.

Joseph is appointed in charge of the collection of a fifth of every farmers harvest to store during the seven good years and is in charge of distribution during the seven years of famine. He meets his brothers begging for food and takes the opportunity to forgive them and reunite himself with his family after being absent for twenty years. A happy ending for Joseph and a moral story of perseverance and God’s deliverance. I guess better late than never.

Egypt story is one of climate change which affects them greatly and directly and they are the hosts for the 27^th annual United Nations Climate Change conference COP27.  The country temperature has increased 2C since the start of the 20^th century. The Nile River which is certain to change by a standard deviation of flow by approximately 50 per cent, will likely cause an equal threat of both flooding and drought killing the fertile agricultural lands alongside the Nile River.

It is the rise in carbon emissions that has been highlighted as a main cause in rising climate temperatures that has caused the increase melting of glaciers and the artic continents resulting in rise in sea levels, flooding, droughts, heat waves reduced crop productions and air water and land pollution.

This is a serious case for the world to start preparing for like Joseph did in small incremental ways over an extended period. So how does it make sense to have hundreds fly into Egypt to discuss the very problems they want to avoid by adding to it with their lack of carbon foot print care?

The Cook Islands is a microdot in the scheme of things and yet we are sending how many people to Egypt? The Prime Minister is a given, Head of Foreign Affairs and staff why? The information could be accessed online. Staff from the Climate Change office you would think is a given, but how many is necessary and what are they going to learn from Egypt’s challenges that will be transferable to our tropical island? Why is Office of Prime Minister head of staff Ben Ponia plus staff going? Is it because they are sending so many ‘staff’ he needs to organise their itinerary and excursions? I do believe someone should be there, not a whole netball team. It is obvious the extent of Government’s promise to be transparent does not extend to letting the public know how much is being spent on this ‘not so little’ hotel holiday jaunt.

New Zealand just gave us fundings for climate change is this what they are using? There is a green climate change fund of millions of which we got our hands on, is this what they are using?

Is all this climate change babble just a dream they have interpreted but no one is doing the ‘Joseph Effect’ by being proactive and doing real time real production work to make changes like installing the solar lighting on Rarotonga where most of the people live and use power.

Funding should be helping with effective projects like saving the lagoon from pollution and thorn starfish, not for sitting in a room the other side of the world. Research into clean energy production avenues like using our constant and never-ending wave power around every island.

Climate change funding should be used to do more than feather the nest of government gluttons.

This trip sounds like a pyramid scheme due to the emphasis on recruiting countries to pay with no genuine tangible product or service offered with a promise of high return in a short period of time.