MICRO, small and medium enterprises in Fiji face financing barriers from high risks and limited guarantees as climate change pressures grow, says permanent secretary for Environment and Climate Change Dr Sivendra Michael.
He said MSMEs made up 75 per cent of businesses in Fiji and provided about 60 per cent of employment yet still struggled to secure the financial support needed to grow.
Dr Michael explained that while the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) has established a guarantee scheme to support MSMEs, uptake has been low.
“Why don’t MSMEs come and take the guarantee? Because we don’t have one bankable project,” he said.
Many community-focused projects lack governance structures, equity, or readiness for financing, making them too risky for investors.
“Because we don’t have one bankable project.
“Projects that are ready to finance for the community, there’s no direct governance structure, there’s no equity, so forth.
“There are multiple layers of complexities. So, you can design a package for MSMEs, but you won’t attract the right set of MSMEs.”
To address this, Dr Michael said Fiji is exploring solutions in partnership with UNCDF and other donors to provide guarantees that could de-risk investments and make financing more accessible for MSMEs.
“We have been modelling some of the good projects through the Drua Incubator and initiatives like the Blue Excavator Grant Scheme (BEGS), which have proven successful with grant and concessional financing.
“Now, we aim to scale these models into a larger package for more people, while encouraging Australian and New Zealand commercial banks in Fiji to recognise their responsibility in supporting MSMEs, helping them grow and contribute to the economy.
He said the Government hopes these steps will create a more enabling environment for MSMEs.
Ocean still overlooked in global climate negotiations – Bulitavu
WHILE the ocean remains central to climate action, it continues to be overlooked in global negotiations, says Minister for Environment and Climate Change Mosese Bulitavu.
He raised the concern while delivering the AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) statement at the COP30 special event on the outcomes of the 2025 Ocean Dialogue.
Speaking on behalf of AOSIS, Mr Bulitavu said the ocean played a critical role not only as a carbon sink but in protecting island communities from climate impacts.
“For Small Island Developing States, the ocean is our lifeblood. It is also our first line of defense against the climate crisis,” he said.
Despite its importance, Mr Bulitavu said the ocean remains underrepresented in the UNFCCC process, and ocean-based climate solutions are severely underfunded.
“Despite this critical role in climate action, the ocean isn’t anchored fully in the UNFCCC process.
“Furthermore, Ocean-based climate solutions remain critically underfunded.
“SDG 14, the ocean goal, receives only 0.01 per cent of all development funding.
“Realising the ocean’s potential for emissions reductions will require substantial investment in sustainable ocean solutions that have environmental integrity.
“COP30 can serve as a key moment for oceans.”
He called for ocean-based adaptation to be central to climate action, noting that reefs, mangroves, and wetlands guard against storms, sustain fisheries, and anchor communities.
“Restoring them supports adaptation, food security, and dignity, but sustained finance is essential to scale these solutions.”
He also highlighted the need to strengthen ocean observing systems, incorporate local and indigenous knowledge and enhance regional co-operation.
Initiatives like the SIDS Centre of Excellence and regional centres on ocean science, coral reefs, and acidification provide platforms to share knowledge, develop solutions, and mobilise finance.
“COP30 must be the moment we move from recognition to action.
“For AOSIS, this is the essence of climate justice: a future where our people can live with security and dignity, where indigenous people and local communities can thrive, and where the ocean continues to
sustain us all.”
Investors hesitant on projects, says Michael
IT is hard for Fiji to find investors who are willing to take on the early financial risk needed to get landfill projects started.
This was shared by permanent secretary for Environment and Climate Change, Sivendra Michael, who said this challenge is even greater when seeking investors from within the Pacific who understand the country’s unique needs.
Speaking during the “Leveraging Private Finance for Local Climate and Ocean” panel at COP30, Dr Michael highlighted the difficulties Fiji faces while developing its Western Landfill Project, which is still in the co-design phase.
“It is incredibly expensive for us to incur transactional costs to then take it to market,” Dr Michael said.
“And know that there won’t be an investor or corporate body that will come alongside to absorb the first loss.
“We need to structure this financing model in a way where we can get capital investors to come in, bid for the project.”
He said this can also attract support from bilateral and multilateral funds such as the JEF, GCF and the Adaptation Fund.
However, many major capital investors operate outside the Pacific, mainly in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
“Fiji wants more Pacific-based investors because they better understand local realities and share Pacific values that shape sustainable development.
“I want to acknowledge the support of UNCDF through the Coral Reef Initiative, which is helping de-risk the project.”
He said partnerships like these are crucial, as they recognise how challenging it is for countries like Fiji to secure first-loss guarantees that make climate projects viable.
Fiji gifts mats to Amazonian elders
FIJI, as part of the Pacific delegation to COP30 in Brazil, has presented traditional Fijian mats to the elders of Amazonia in a symbolic act of solidarity between Pacific Islanders and Indigenous communities of the Amazon.
Speaking after the handover, Deputy Head of Region for 350.org, Fenton Lutunatabua said the exchange reflected the deep historical ties between Pacific and Amazonian peoples, connections that he said date back to ancestral trading relationships.
The ceremony took place during the People’s Summit, after a joint event with COIAB (Coordination of Indigenous Organisations of the Brazilian Amazon).
At the event, Mr Lutunatabua, Tuvalu’s Grace Malie of the “Make the Rich Polluters Pay” campaign, and Pacific Climate Warriors representative Tuifaasisina Tapenaga Reupena Polataivao-Fatialofa II spoke about the deep connections shared between their communities.
He said Pacific representatives had earlier met with COIAB members in Brasília this year as part of efforts to build stronger relationships with Indigenous groups ahead of COP30.
“Those early discussions centred on shared experiences of climate impacts, the effects of fossil fuel extraction, and the “connection between extraction points and climate impacts” faced by both regions,” Mr Lutunatabua said.
The People’s Summit panel, he added, offered another opportunity for Pacific and Amazonian communities to exchange stories and reflect on these common challenges.
“We also heard from somebody from French Guiana who shared stories of climate impacts and how they deal with that. Very similar. It was just being able to reconnect and share space again with one another.”
Mr Lutunatabu also highlighted the recent global “Draw the Line” mobilisation, during which communities around the world, guided by Pacific advocacy, reaffirmed the call to keep global warming within 1.5°C.
He explained that the mats given in Brazil were woven in Fiji by a group connected through the Alliance for Future Generations (AFG), and had been used during climate actions in Suva before being brought to COP30.
“The people that organised the day of action wanted to make sure that we could bring these mats from Fiji.
“And we gave them as gifts to our family here in Brazil, just to say thank you for doing all of the work that you’re doing and we see you and we appreciate you.”
The mats will be placed at COIAB’s headquarters in Manaus, Amazonas, as a symbol of Pacific–Amazonian solidarity in the global climate movement.
