Regions of Climate Action (R20), Fiji and Reunion Island have joined forces to create the Sub-national Climate Fund for Islands and coastal regions (SnCF Islands). They will work together to foster the development of green infrastructure projects for the Pacific in renewable energy, waste management and municipal lighting, as well as to create an investment fund to finance the projects.
Island States and territories are amongst those most affected by climate change, not least from severe weather, and rising sea levels. They are also amongst those territories that suffer the most from the lack of essential energy, waste management and city lighting infrastructure projects that are necessary to power the economy, create jobs, and reduce negative impacts on health.
The approach will be based on BlueOrchard Finance and R20’s first fund, the Sub-national Climate Fund for Africa (SnCF Africa). It will complement the Pacific Regional NDC Hub launched at COP23 by seeking to leverageadditional private and public investments in projects crucial to implementing and enhancing Pacific NDCs.
Fiji's Ambassador in Brussels and the COP23 Climate Ambassador, Deo Saran, presented a letter of support from the Fijian Government supporting this partnership with R20 at the R20 World Summit held this week in Vienna, Austria.
In the letter of support the Attorney-General and Minister responsible for Climate Change, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said that Fiji looks forward to working with the R20 to help build the value chain for projects in the Pacific that will improve the lives and livelihoods of Pacific Islanders and demonstrate a model of scalable climate investment solutions for vulnerable communities in other parts of the world.
Projects will be implemented using technologies that emit little carbon, and that are designed to meet the needs of local populations, creating local jobs, powering the economy, and reducing the impact of development on health. In this way projects will both contribute to reaching the Paris Climate objectives and to reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
R20 is a non-profit organization founded by former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. R20’s mission is to support sub-national governments around the world to develop and finance green infrastructure projects, designed to meet the needs of local populations, and to be attractive to local and international investors. R20 works to accelerate the meeting of the Paris climate change objectives and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Fiji currently holds the Presidency of the 23rd Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is one of the leading global voices calling on the international community to commit to more ambitious targets to curb the carbon emissions that are warming our planet and drawing attention to the impact climate change is having on vulnerable communities, including Pacific Islanders and the residents of other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and low-lying areas of the world.
Reunion Island is an island territory that occupies a leadership role amongst nations and territories in the Indian Ocean region.