FIJI’S participation in this year’s COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, came with a flurry of public outcry, especially aimed at the cost of accommodating the 56-member delegation.
COP, which is often touted as the Olympics of the climate change movement, brings smaller nations to the negotiating table to navigate through bureaucratic processes to secure adaptation funding and support from big emitters.
This year’s event was dubbed the “Finance COP”, where delegations like Fiji aspired to secure a large chunk of climate financing to meet adaptation and mitigation demands.
At a press briefing prior to COP29, head of delegation, Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad told the media that for the Pacific, there was a dire need to secure adaptation funding to counter loss and damage that occurred because of the devastation caused by extreme weather patterns such as cyclones, floods, etcetera.
“And Pacific countries are feeling the brunt of climate change, or exacerbated by climate change, disasters,” he said.
Tense Negotiations
Like always, this year’s COP29 featured a medley of representatives from the public and private sectors, each with their own vested interests to protect.
Thus, it was no surprise when Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) representatives — including Fiji — walked out of the climate summit after an offer of $250 billion was proposed to overcome the effects of climate change.
The walkout signalled talks were close to collapsing, but in the end, developed nations agreed to channel about $300 billion each year into developing countries by 2035, to aid efforts to cope with climate change.
It was a far cry from the $1.3 trillion in climate finance mooted by developing nations.
But Prof Prasad said this move helped to further cement their point.
While speaking at the Fiji Association of Architects awards night in Suva on Friday, Prof Prasad recounted how Fiji’s negotiators stood shoulder to shoulder with other AOSIS nations to provide leadership during these vital talks.
“We provided significant leadership at COP29 and in fact, I would go further to say that the talk was almost on the verge of collapse,” he said.
“And if it was not for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including those from the Caribbean, in the Indian Ocean, we would not have had an agreement.
“So, the agreement that we’ve had has a number of good features, and again, it has an important bearing on how we will be able to access this finance in the next couple of years.”
Win Some, Lose Some
Prof Prasad agreed that Fiji and other SIDS were not able to achieve everything they set out to do. The delegation had hoped to secure about $39 billion as part of a resilience fund for the 39 SIDS as a minimum; however, this was not agreed upon.
Despite that, he acknowledged they were satisfied with the way things had turned out as this would provide the foundation for discussions at COP30 next year.
Perhaps the biggest achievement of this year’s COP is the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund (L&D).
Prof Prasad said this included about $700 million to $800m which would be administered as a financial intermediary by the World Bank.
“Then we have the $300b that has been committed annually until 2035. The Pacific Island Countries would be able to source that as well. And then we launched a Pacific Resilience Fund, which is a Pacific-grown, Pacific conceived, fund, and the secretariat of that fund will be based in Tonga.
“The (Pacific) finance ministers are meeting again in March (next year) to be able to finalise all the legal and the financial aspects of the fund.
“And that fund, that will begin to be available by 2026 or even before that, will provide excellent opportunities for many of our investors in the next few years.”
“Not a Joyride”
Past COPs have gained a somewhat infamous reputation for being a “holiday”, where government delegates are flown to exotic destinations and often rest on their laurels.
Prof Prasad said it was easy for people to talk and say COP was a “joyride”, but the reality on the ground was quite different.
“I’ve just returned from COP29, and some people thought it was a joyride, right? But I can tell you, not a moment of it was a joyride,” he said.
He also said the event proved that action was needed now more than ever before, and one of the main areas of concern was climate-resilient infrastructure.
He encouraged the architects at the event to delve deeper into areas of sustainability and green infrastructure and designs in the future.
“As designers of the future Fiji, you have the exceptional opportunity to integrate climate smart designs that reduce the carbon footprint, conserve resources and protect our natural environment.
“In fact, what we are saying to the world, is anything that we build in this part of the world, in Fiji, in the Pacific, has to be climate resilient.
“When we talk about building a health centre, when we talk about building a good school, when we talk about building private infrastructure, agriculture infrastructure, all of these will have to be climate resilient because of the frequency, the intensity of the natural disasters and the impact of climate change.”
Prof Prasad said there was a need to build about 700 seawalls in the next couple of years and relocate close to 80 communities in Fiji.
“What we are saying is that the funding that is available, the investments that will happen, will all have to be climate resilient.
“Therefore, we will require the design ability, the thinking behind the structure and how it is going to be climate resilient.”