PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM
Media Release
Forum Secretariat, Suva, Tuesday 7 September 2021 - A virtual information session about Tonga’s newest Green Climate Fund (GCF) readiness programme was held on Tuesday 31 August. The event saw more than 20 participants from the private sector link with the Green Climate Funds National Designated Authority (NDA) Offices across the Pacific.
The information session jointly facilitated by the Pacific Islands Forum and Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO), featured Tonga’s Chamber of Commerce & Industry (TCCI), Tonga’s Department of Climate Change, and the Tonga Development Bank. The session was aimed at enhancing private sector knowledge and understanding of the GCF readiness support and learning from the experiences and lessons shared by Tonga on accessing this readiness fund. Private sector partners gained new insights of the role they play in building resilience at national level.
Tonga recently accessed the GCF readiness grant in January 2021 with support from Tonga’s GCF NDA. The readiness programme will support Tonga’s private sector to strengthen its engagement with key partners in climate actions and build capacity of its members to develop GCF concept notes and funding proposals.
In 2020, TCCI in collaboration with the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga and the Forum Secretariat, concluded a mapping of businesses on Nukualofa that have been exposed to the threats posed by climate change. The mapping exercise provided the relevant information on climate change for the private sector and the relevant data and information about the private sector supported the preparation of the GCF readiness grant application.
This activity is aligned with the overall intent of the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) and the Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP) and supported through the EU funded Intra-ACP GCCA+ Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change and Resilience Building (PACRES).
Similar mapping work has been done in the Cook Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and other Forum members have also indicated interest in this work.--ENDS
