BY GEORGINA KEKEA
SOLOMON Islands will be able to improve its access to climate change finance now that a climate change and disaster risk finance assessment report has been produced.
Over the years, priority for the Solomon Islands government is to improve the ability of the country to access climate change funds.
Now that assessment work has been completed and a report produced, practical application of options to improve access to/and management of climate change and disaster risk finance is now clearly indicated.
Speaking at the launch of the ‘Climate Change and Disaster Risk Finance Assessment Report’, Minister of environment, climate change, disaster management & meteorology (MECDM), Dr Culwick Togamana says the assessment was timely as it occurred just after the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change came into operation.
“As such, I would like to acknowledge and commend the assistance by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Pacific Community, German International Development Cooperation (GIZ), UNDP and the donors behind this work: USAID, Australian Aid with support from PFTAC and SPREP. Moreover, I wish to acknowledge and thank the experts who prepared this report, some of whom are here with us today – thank you – “Exsley, Ledua and Vuki”, please convey our thanks to the rest of the experts and supporting members.”
The assessment report is said to identify a number of key findings and recommendations that have been categorised into policy and planning, funding sources, public financial management and expenditure, institutional, human capacity, gender and social inclusion and development effectiveness, Mr Togamana said.
He said the assessment report is just the beginning of work that this country and its partners need in order to implement and optimise access to climate change and disaster risk finance and more importantly manage the use of our resources to address climate change and disaster risk management as well as meet our development needs.
“To this end, I call on all stakeholders to support the implementation of the action plan outlined in the assessment report. I must also admit that this needs a “whole of government approach” and more importantly a “whole of country approach” because climate change and disaster risks do not pick and choose whom they will affect – they affect us all,” Togamana said.
In his call, Minister Togamana specifically requested that the private sector step up to assist the government in areas of climate change as well since they also have a major role to play in the development of the country.
The ‘Climate change and disaster risk finance assessment report’ was officially launched yesterday evening.
