SI to benefit from Japan’s ¥1.3trillion aid

BY MAVIS NISHIMURA PODOKOLO

Mr Tomoaki Ishigaki speaking at the briefing of Japan’s initiative on Climate Change in Tokyo Japan.

SOLOMON Islands is one of the listed priority countries to benefit from Japan’s 1.3trillion Yen initiative towards the Pacific climate change programme.

The Government of Japan has allocated 1.3 trillion yen towards its climate change programmes in the Pacific region.

The fund will cover Japan’s climate-related support in areas of establishing geothermal power generation, urban railroads, disaster prevention infrastructure, water supply promotion of establishment of early warning systems, intercity collaboration and human resources development and other areas of Japan’s expertise.

Solomon Islands will be one of the beneficiaries of this fund when the new climate change programme commences in 2020.

Director of Japan’s Climate Change Division Mr Tomoaki Ishigaki made the announcement official when briefing delegates who attend the PALM8 meeting on Japan’s Climate Change Initiative.

He said Solomon Islands will be one of the ‘top priority’ under the new fund because Solomon Islands is rated atop in the disaster risk index.

Ishigaki adds that the decision was made because Solomon Islands has a potentially higher fragility due to climate change, susceptible to natural disasters and considerable economic and demographic.

“We want to help Solomon Islands because Solomon Islands was among the top ten countries in the Pacific that features in the world risk assessment reports and was ranked the sixth in the world risk index with19.14 percent,” he said.

Ishigaki told the official that Japan has already financed a project of multi-hazard and risk assessment and early system and a climate change centre.

He adds that other Pacific Island countries also get a fair share of the new project.

“We did this because climate change is a global issue which cannot be solved by our self. We stand to support the Pacific Islands countries to compensate the benefits we have through raw materials that are imported from Pacific Islands countries,” Ishigaki said.

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