17 June 2024, Nadi, Fiji – Pacific Island countries are amongst the most vulnerable in the world to the impacts of climate change, rising sea levels, extreme weather events which impact traditional livelihoods, food security, and the integrity of the Pacific ecosystem.
In an effort to protect communities and fight back against climate change impacts, Pacific Leaders have constantly raised the importance of accessing climate finance from international institutions, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Pacific governments, however, often encounter barriers related to limited institutional capacity, technical expertise, and understanding of the intricate climate finance processes.
To address this gap, thirty representatives from Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu are gathered in Nadi, Fiji for a regional training on Developing Concept Notes for the GCF.
The five-day training delivered through the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC), hosted at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the Asian Institute of Technology Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (AIT RRC.AP) aims to equip stakeholders with the necessary knowledge to formulate high-quality climate change concept notes.
SPREP’s Director Climate Change Resilience, Ms Tagaloa Cooper, welcomed the opportunity to build the capacity of Pacific countries to develop bankable projects aligned with the GCF's criteria, ensuring effective project implementation to address climate change.
“Pacific countries continue to call for more access and predictable climate finance investment in the region in order to address their climate change needs and priorities,” said Ms Cooper.
“This is why such a training is important to the work we do and the communities we serve. Pacific Island countries have indicatively mobilised over USD 2 billion in climate finance in the past 10 years and from 2015 to 2020 and approximately US$3.6 billion in climate finance was committed to Pacific Island countries or regional initiatives in the Pacific.
“This amount of climate finance accessed still falls significantly short of the estimated adaptation and mitigation investment needs required to protect our Blue Pacific and Pacific communities, economies and enable them to deliver against their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and climate change adaptation priorities.”
The practical, hands-on training focuses on developing new and existing GCF Concept Notes in Pacific countries to enhance financial support for climate change resilience by empowering and enhancing the capabilities of key stakeholders engaged in the design of climate change adaptation projects.
The Director of AIT RRC.AP, Dr Guilberto Borongan, said the workshop serves as a platform to collectively identify next steps in Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) climate change adaptation and resilience strategies and, by leveraging GCF financing, to catalyse transformative changes, discussing innovative financing mechanisms and practical solutions to enhance the resilience of PSIDS regions through group discussions and participatory exercises.
“The Centre is committed to bridging science and policy, thereby empowering countries in Asia and the Pacific to achieve environmental sustainability,” he said.
Participants for this training were selected from the Pacific Climate Change Centre Capacity Building Community of Practice who had previously completed the executive training course on Climate Finance Training delivered through the Project for Capacity Building for Climate Resilience in the Pacific (CBCRP) 2019-2023.
The Manager of the Pacific Climate Change Centre, Ms ‘Ofa Kaisamy, said the training is critical to unlocking and enabling capacity for participants to develop proposal reflected in their national priorities and the GCF country programme.
“Recognising the urgency of building capacity and the roles of the Pacific Climate Change Centre and the Asian Institute of Technology Regional Resource Centre, this targeted training is an essential intervention and a platform to empower government officials, climate practitioners, project developers, and representatives from civil society with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the GCF funding effectively,” she said.
“By enhancing understanding, fostering collaboration, and providing practical tools for project development, this workshop seeks to catalyse transformative change in the climate resilience initiatives of Pacific countries.”
For more information, please contact [email protected].
---------------------------------
The Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) is the regional Centre of excellence for climate change information, research, capacity building, and innovation, hosted at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Apia, Samoa. As a Centre of excellence, the PCCC is mandated to provide practical information, support, and training to address the adaptation and mitigation priorities of Pacific Island communities.
The PCCC is underpinned by strong partnerships with Pacific Governments, applied research institutions, donors, civil society, and the private sector. The PCCC is a partnership between the Governments of Japan and Samoa. It is funded under grant aid through JICA for Samoa as the host country of SPREP. Additionally, the Centre receives generous funding and support from the Governments of New Zealand and Australia.
---------------------------------
The Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT RRC.AP) is committed to bridging science and policy, empowering countries in Asia and the Pacific to achieve environmental sustainability. RRC.AP supports the Sustainable Development Goals by providing resources, capacity-building, and science-based policy guidance to stakeholders, governments, and communities. RRC.AP engages across all governance levels, delivering knowledge products, advanced research and assessment, and policy support in three thematic areas: Climate Change, Air and Atmosphere, and Waste and Resource Management.
The RRC.AP is based in Bangkok, Thailand. For more information, please contact [email protected].
