The proposed Action takes place within the framework of an existing Financing Agreement between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States Secretariat (“OACPS Secretariat”) and the European Union (EU) for the implementation of the Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Application Programme. The programme has been approved for a total of EUR 85M under the intra ACP Cooperation – 11th European Development Fund - Strategy Paper and Indicative programme 2014-2020 programming actions for the ACP regional organizations/institutions and countries. The overall goal of this Action is to support the climate information services value chain with technical and financial assistance, infrastructure and capacity building. This will ultimately result in improved access and use of climate information and enable and encourage the generation and use of climate services and applications for decision-making at all levels in the Pacific region. For the Pacific, this Action is timely and necessary since climate variability and change are already having and will continue to have severe impacts on national economies and key socio-economic sectors in the absence of this type of large scale, resilience intervention. The Pacific region is particularly vulnerable to the adverse
impacts of climate change. Its unique environment and social and economic challenges limit the capacity of Pacific ACP countries to reduce their vulnerability and exposure to climate change impacts.
Situated in what is recognized to be the most disaster-prone region in the world, Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) are highly vulnerable to sudden and slow-onset hazards and disasters. These have caused and continue to cause substantial loss of life, injury, physical and psychological trauma, decreased access to goods, services, assets and livelihood, as well as sizeable financial and economic costs that all undermine sustainable development. This project while addressing key areas of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) will also contribute to provide information that will enhance better planning and decision making by Governments of the region.
The Action will address the Five (5) Key Result Area of the Intra-ACP Climate Services and related applications programme, complementing all pillars and priorities of the Pacific Roadmap for Climate Services 2017-2026, Priority 2 of the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) 2017-2030 and Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction, and Priority 3 on Improved Climate and Hydrological Services of the Pacific Islands Meteorological Strategy (PIMS) 2017-2026. The Action will
directly strengthen the tools and capacity to bridge climate services and end-users in climate-sensitive sectors to resource and implement the GFCS on all levels. It is well aligned with United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, implementation of Paris Agreement and directly contributing to address SDG 13 on climate change and secondary to SDG 2 on zero hunger, SDG3 on good health and wellbeing, SDG5 on gender, SDG 6 on clean water, SDG 14 on life below water and SDG 15 on life on land. All Pacific ACP members will directly benefit from the Action with recognition of Samoa and Kiribati as pilot countries for this initiative at the national level. It will particularly focus on the agriculture and disaster risk reduction sectors. Agriculture in this context refer to food security both on land (agriculture) and at sea (fisheries) which Samoa and Kiribati are dependent. Harnessing the expertise that exists globally, regionally and nationally, the Action will be implemented
by the OACPS Secretariat, the UN specialised agency World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). The main beneficiaries of the Programme are the Regional Climate Centres (RCCs), the African Union Commission, the African Regional Economic Communities, the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).