Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said “the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH) is a strong step in the right direction” because it assists small states to untangle the red tape around climate financing.
He made the comment when he met with the secretary-general of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Baroness Patricia Scotland, along the margins of COP26 last week.
Through the Commonwealth Secretariat, climate finance advisers have been deployed to 11 countries, providing technical assistance to climate change institutions.
The hub has mobilised climate finance worth $US43.8 million ($F91 million) in six developing countries.
Mr Bainimarama called for the expansion of the scope of such arrangements for the benefit of the wider Commonwealth family, especially the Small Island States.
During their discussion, the secretary-general commended the PM’s partnership at the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) hosted by the United Kingdom.
She also acknowledged Fiji’s commitment to the Commonwealth Blue Charter and support towards the Secretariat and congratulated the PM for assuming the role of Pacific Islands Forum Chair.
Mr Bainimarama and the Baroness also discussed the need for Commonwealth members to preserve land particularly those that have more ocean than land, Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) partnerships and Blue Bonds.
The PM said as a champion for the Action Group on Oceans and Climate Change, Fiji had committed to stronger Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement and the country’s National Adaptation Plan mapped out a multi-billion-dollar effort to strengthen its climate resilience.
