CLIMATE finance mechanisms must pivot to support Pacific communities enduring prolonged droughts, bushfires, and water scarcity rather than only responding to sudden tropical cyclones.
This was the stern message delivered by Minister for Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya, at the “Finance That Reaches the Pacific” high-level event during the COP31 summit in Antalya, Türkiye.
Speaking as the region’s Political Champion for Climate Finance, Ms Tabuya questioned the structural limitations of existing climate risk insurance protocols, particularly as Fiji and the wider Pacific navigate severe El Niño conditions.
“Climate risk insurance is all well and good for cyclones,” Ms Tabuya said. “But what about the super El Niño we are experiencing now? What triggers support for prolonged drought, bushfires and worsening water shortages? How long must communities struggle before assistance becomes available?”
Ms Tabuya urged global financial mechanisms to recognise slow-onset climate disasters with the same urgency as sudden-impact events. She emphasised that delayed responses directly threaten food security, local livelihoods, and access to clean drinking water across the archipelago.
“For a family running out of drinking water or a farmer losing crops, the emergency is already here. We need clear triggers, timely funding and support that reaches people before their losses deepen.”
While expressing gratitude to the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC), the Global Shield, and the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) for their swift relief rollouts after recent cyclones, Ms Tabuya made it clear that current funding targets remain inadequate.
She challenged international bilateral partners to back the PRF’s expanded $US1.5billion ($F3.36b) fundraising ambition, explicitly moving past the previously negotiated $US500million target.
“$1.5billion for 1.5 overshoot. And our measure of success must be what reaches our communities: water when supplies run dry, protection for livelihoods, and the means to recover with dignity.”
