Delivered by President of Palau,H.E Surangel Whipps
at the Micronesia Private Sector Workshop on Climate Finance
27 June 2023
Alii and a warm good morning to our friends from the Pacific!
Firstly, I would like to thank the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Palau Chamber of Commerce, and the Palau Government for co-organizing this important workshop. I would also like to recognize and thank our colleagues from our neighboring Pacific islands for your presence here.
It is my pleasure to speak at this important workshop on climate finance and the private sector.
As you know, climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing our region today. The impacts of climate change are already being felt in the Pacific, in the form of more extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and changes in agricultural yields. These impacts are threatening the livelihoods and well-being of people in the Pacific.
We need to act now to build resilience to climate change. This means investing in adaptation measures that will help communities and businesses cope with the impacts of climate change, as well as investing in mitigation measures that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The private sector has a critical role to play in building resilience to climate change. The private sector has the resources and the expertise to develop and implement innovative solutions to climate change. However, the private sector often faces challenges in accessing climate finance. These challenges include:
- The lack of awareness of climate finance opportunities
- The complexity of climate finance processes
- The lack of capacity to develop and implement climate finance projects
This workshop is timely as it is an opportunity to strengthen private sector engagement in climate finance and improve access to capital investments to address climate change.
I welcome the discussions to get a greater understanding of the global and regional climate finance architecture, financing opportunities available to the private sector, the role of the private sector in mitigation and adaptation, and public-private partnerships for climate change.
I believe that this workshop will be a valuable opportunity for the private sector to learn about climate finance and to develop the capacity to access and use it. I encourage you to participate actively in the workshop and to share your experiences with others.
Thank you for your time.
Mesulang
[ENDS]
