[Source: Ministry of Finance, Fiji/ Facebook]

Pacific Finance Ministers face tough choices between long-term development, resilience planning and immediate climate disaster responses.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad, this growing burden on public funding is leading to increased debt, limited fiscal space and fewer resources for long-term development.

Speaking at a panel on “Accelerating Transformative Resilience in the Pacific,” Prasad highlighted the compounded impact of COVID-19 and frequent natural disasters.

[Source: Ministry of Finance, Fiji/ Facebook]

These challenges, he says have left many Pacific Island countries with little room to borrow or fund climate disaster responses and to manage mid- and long-term goals.

“We have increased our efforts to access climate finance in the form of grants and we are investing in building capacity and looking for instruments that we can leverage to our advantage.”

Prasad stressed the importance of accessing international finance and grants for climate adaptation.

However, he notes that converting available climate finance into tangible results is difficult due to complex and fragmented processes.

Overlapping interests and poor coordination further reduce the effectiveness of these funds.

Prasad also pointed out that securing climate finance is resource-intensive, consuming both budgetary resources and staff time.

Fragmented donor projects complicate matters, making it hard to achieve meaningful outcomes.

The panel discussion called for better coordination and streamlined processes to ensure effective use of climate finance.

Prasad is urging international support to help the Pacific region build resilience against climate change.