Page 21 - IB August 2020

Economy

Exsley Taloiburi, Pacific Islands Forum climate finance adviser

FEMM SEEKS MONEY FOR COVID,

MONEY FOR CLIMATE

By Nic Maclellan to natural disasters. At the beginning of this year we were
hit by Cyclone Tino and then a few weeks later we had the
“For the Pacific, the impact of climate change will remain COVID-19 pandemic.”
as the greatest threat to our Pacific people in the longer Some Pacific governments have developed stimulus packag-
term. You can quarantine COVID-19, but climate change can- es to respond to recent economic damage. FEMM 2020 called
not be quarantined.” on donors, Multilateral Development Banks and other funding
That’s Exsley Taloiburi, climate change finance adviser at institutions to support the economic recovery of Forum Island
the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva. Countries through “appropriate levels of support that focus on
This month, the annual Forum Economic Ministers Meeting grant financing arrangements, including direct budget support
(FEMM) went online, to discuss the regional response to the and other forms of innovative measures, including ‘debt for
coronavirus pandemic. The meeting focussed on the social nature swaps’ (climate change, post-disaster reconstruction
and economic effects of border closures, increased health and Blue Pacific initiatives).”
spending, the collapse of tourism and associated job losses. The meeting was also concerned that the postponement of
But Forum Secretary General Dame Meg Taylor was quick to global climate negotiations until 2021 should not divert atten-
acknowledge the region was dealing with compounding and tion from the adverse effects of climate change and disasters.
interconnected challenges: “Today, we are now faced with They called for disaster risk financing to address the economic
three crises: a health crisis, an economic crisis and the ongo- burden of climate change, loss and damage from disasters,
ing climate crisis.” and resilience needs. A key agenda item at FEMM 2020 was to
The final FEMM outcomes statement agreed: “We recognise progress work on the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), a re-
the three-pronged crisis currently facing the region – the gional funding mechanism endorsed by Forum leaders in 2019.
impact of COVID-19, the devastating effects of climate change The discussion on financial support ranged across different
and natural disasters, and the fragile economic health of the mechanisms – bilateral, regional and multilateral – including
region as a consequence of inherent vulnerabilities.” climate finance from multilateral banks, dedicated climate
Tuvalu’s Minister of Finance Seve Paeniu was chair of FEMM funding mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF),
2020. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Paeniu or co-investment drawing on regional superannuation funds.
stressed that these combined crises affect states like Tuvalu, In their presentation to Forum leaders, civil society groups
that do not have any confirmed cases of coronavirus: “Even also called for major industrialised powers to end subsidies to
though we are COVID-19 free, we are already feeling the flow- fossil fuel projects and divert these resources to renewable
on impact in terms of the financial drain on our resources, in energy, adaptation and resilience initiatives.
terms of our health systems, to ensure that our capacity to be
able to respond in the event that there is a COVID-19 out- Pacific Resilience Facility
break in Tuvalu. On top of that, we are very much vulnerable The idea for a regional resilience fund has built momentum

Islands Business, August 2020 21