“For far too long, climate finance has been mired in bureaucracy, conditions, and processes that have, in some cases by design, kept this financing constrained to specific implementers, purposes, and objectives.”
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Hon. Biman Prasad, highlighted this message at the High-Level Session on Localising Finance for Community-Led Adaptation at the #COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan yesterday. (11.11.24).
DPM Prasad explained that the majority of available climate finance was channelled through third-party implementers, with its use constrained to specific activities.
He said finance that did reach grassroots communities was often only for pilot projects or post-disaster recovery.
“Localising the deployment of climate finance for community-led adaptation in Fiji and the wider Pacific is a must. A large proportion of Pacific populations live in traditional community settings in rural areas and outer islands,” DPM Prasad said.
“In Fiji, we have taken significant steps to empower local communities to progress their adaptation efforts. These efforts continue to be restricted by limited and insufficient financing for adaptation and loss and damage."
DPM Prasad made the case for the fundamental transformation of climate finance instruments so that finance can begin to flow directly to communities on the frontlines of climate change.
He highlighted that recent estimates indicate approximately $10 billion USD in investment will be required to build resilience, address loss and damage, and deliver against Fiji’s Nationally Developed Contribution (NDC) targets over the coming decade.
DPM Prasad said Fiji’s first National Adaptation Plan (NAP) outlines a list of 160 priorities and measures across various sectors, a significant proportion of which need to be actioned at the local level.
“There is very little potential to deliver against these needs without empowering local actors to implement solutions directly,” he said.
“Herein lies the crux of the issue, the fact that climate finance in its current form does not take advantage of subsidiarity.”
DPM Prasad ended by stressing the importance of achieving the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance.