While global climate finance pledges are a victory for frontline communities, they mean nothing until they reach the people they are meant to serve.
350.org Pacific director and Kato Pacific Community Climate Fund chair Joseph Sikulu said this in a press statement released this week.
“The Kato Pacific Community Climate Fund was created as a finance mechanism that is simple, clear and accessible to all,” he said as Pacific activists and civil society presented the historic new climate finance initiative to the community of Kioa Island off Vanua Levu.
The fund is a mechanism created in response to resounding cries from frontline communities that current climate finance is often inaccessible and insufficient.
“We hear and we carry their frustrations.
“As our Finance Ministers meet this week (at the Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers meeting in Suva), our hope is that they mirror the discussions at grassroots level and work together to transform national and global finance mechanisms.
“Transforming our climate finance structures is a crucial step towards securing the resources our communities need to transition their energy systems, adapt to the changing climate and invest in the local solutions they deserve.”
Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) regional coordinator Lavetanalagi Seru said “Pacific civil society is leading the way in developing and operationalizing a funding modality that is context-appropriate and responsive to the needs of frontline communities.”
“Kato is a response to the cries of our communities, who have long made it clear that the current climate financing mechanisms are largely inaccessible and inequitable,” Mr Seru said.
“This is our collective attempt to stand in the gap often left by national, regional, and international instruments and an opportunity to centre our people and communities in our efforts to build a resilient and thriving Pacific region.”
