by Marie Kauna – EMTV Online, Port Moresby
Image Source: The Global Call for Climate Action
The Solomon Islands is the 7th Pacific Island nation to undertake the Climate Change and Disaster Risk Finance Assessment.
With climate change impacts affecting many worldwide, access to climate change finance is important for Solomon Islands and taking this assessment, will help the nation improve its ability to access and manage the climate change and disaster risk finance.
A joint assessment team comprising of representatives from government ministries, non-governmental organisations and the private sector have met up in Honiara for a two-week consultative meeting.
At the opening day, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, Dr. Melchior Mataki, said, “this assessment will provide an opportunity to agree on a national definition of climate finance and inform the country how to better access and manage climate and disaster risk finance resources.”
Results and recommendations from the assessment will identify opportunities that will update policies and plans to be more relevant, strengthen the human capacity, enhance institutional coordination and ensure cross-cutting issues are mainstreamed and supported in Solomon Islands.
The opportunity will not only benefit Solomon Island improve its access to international climate finance mechanisms but will also enhance donor confidence and utilisation of the country’s systems more broadly.
The assessment initiative was made possible through support from various partners. These include; United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/ Pacific Community (SPC); Institutional Strengthening for Adaptation to Climate Change (ISACC) Project; Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)/GIZ Climate Finance Readiness in the Pacific Project and; the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Pacific Risk Resilience Program, in consultation with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC).
