9 November 2023, Dubai UAE - The Pacific’s leadership on the international stage pushing for the highest global ambition on finance for adaptation to address climate change was showcased at COP28 at the launch of the Climate and Development Ministerial Coalition of Ambition on Adaptation Finance.
The launch event at the Moana Pacific Blue Pavilion on Friday night was spearheaded by the Government of Vanuatu, in partnership with the United Arab Emirates, as COP28 President, the United Kingdom (UK) and Malawi.
From the Pacific, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tuvalu and the Republic of Marshall Islands are among 13 countries to launch a vision for reforming the adaptation finance architecture. They join Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Malawi, Nepal, the Netherlands, Somalia and United Kingdom, with more countries expected to join.
The Adaptation Fund is also part of the Coalition, launched by the Director General of Vanuatu’s Ministry of Climate Change, Ms Esline Garaebiti on behalf on the Honorable Minister for Climate Change, Hon. Ralph Regenvanu.
“This year, Vanuatu and parts of the Pacific were pummelled by three category 4 cyclones, and our island communities are still picking up the pieces as we meet here today,” she said.
“The escalating Loss and Damage we face in SIDS and LDCs will only be minimised if we can quickly transition away from fossil fuels, and dramatically scale up the resources for adaptation so desperately needed by our people.
“It is clear that adaptation is an under-resourced lifeline as the impacts of the climate crisis worsen daily, and that is why Vanuatu is committed to a solutions-focused and ambitious agenda under the Climate and Development Ministerial.”
Tuvalu’s Minister for Finance, Hon. Seve Paeniu, echoed the point from Vanuatu.
“I want to remind here tonight that while we are here talking and enjoying this beautiful city of Dubai, my country is sinking and that’s why Tuvalu is joining this Coalition,” he said. “Our communities live with the reality of their land being eaten away by coastal erosion and rising sea levels, their foreshores eroding, some of the islands are disappearing.
“Tuvalu is a low-lying atoll nation just two metres above sea level with a very thin strip of land. Our taro plantations and our crops are dying because sea water has infiltrated our lands. Our fisheries has also been affected because of the salinity and the warming of the sea and so forth.”
The vision of the Coalition of Ambition on Adaptation Finance was developed through the 2023 Climate and Development Ministerial hosted by the COP28 President with the Governments of Vanuatu, Malawi and the UK. The Coalition aims to enhance country-owned programmatic financing, easing access to adaptation finance, and scaling all sources of adaptation finance.
Samoa’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Hon. Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, recalled Samoa’s challenges with climate change finance and shared why his Government supports the Coalition.
“In 2005, we developed what we called Community Integrated Management Plans where we went through the entire country and developed plans for 49 districts identifying their adaptation needs, risk assessments and so forth,” he said. “In 2015, less than five percent of these plans have been implemented so we went back to the community to try to develop these plans again and the first thing they asked was, ‘oh what happened to the other plans you had ten years ago?’ We told them, sorry we don’t have the finance.
“For us this mechanism is another opportunity to amplify the voices of our communities on their adaptation needs and why we continue to call for the highest possible ambition on climate financing, that is fit-for-purpose, responding to the needs of our countries, not that of the donor. I want to remind here tonight that while we continue to talk about this, our communities continue to be impacted by sea level rise and all the impacts exacerbated by climate change.”
The Ministers from Tuvalu and Samoa were amongst the High Level speakers from Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Malawi, Nepal, the Netherlands, Somalia, United Kingdom and the Adaptation Fund, who all pledged allegiance and support for the Coalition.
The launch of the Climate and Development Ministerial Coalition of Ambition on Adaptation Finance is the culmination of months of technical and ministerial workshops and interactions among the co-hosts and the support from the International Institute for Environment and Development and E3G.
The 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) in Dubai, UAE is taking place from Thursday 30 November 2023 – Tuesday 12 December 2023.
It is being attended by Pacific leaders and their delegations, who are advocating for the survival of Pacific communities who continue to be at the forefront of climate change impacts.
A key part of amplifying the One Pacific Voice at COP28 is the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, which is a Pacific partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Another key part of the Pacific’s work at COP28 is the Pacific Delegation Office, which is Pacific partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand. Both the Moana Pacific Pavilion and the Pacific Delegation Office are managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).