This is in preparation for the ‘inflow of substantial funding’ from the fast track financing, now committed under the Copenhagen Accord.
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Tuiloma Neroni Slade speaking to journalists at a Pacific Islands News Association and Media Association blong Vanuatu media workshop in Port Vila said leaders need to ensure that all available resources for climate change are well coordinated.
“There is a great deal of additional funding available, especially in the fast track finance in the Copenhagen Accord. We need to prepare for the event of the inflow of such funding,” said Slade.
At the moment, there is no regional mechanism to manage this kind of fund, and leaders, Slade said, will need to pay attention to a set of principles or a framework of mechanisms to deal with the prospect of global funding.
He admitted that one of the problems is access to funding made available at the international level.
The director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program, David Sheppard, said a study is being conducted by his Apia office to determine how much aid is allocated to the region to address climate change.
“We want to ensure that resources are well coordinated to address priorities of Pacific Island Countries.”
One other option for the Pacific is whether a trust fund can be established to facilitate the allocation, said Sheppard.
The SPREP study, now underway will determine how much money is allocated for climate change in the region. It will be ready in September.
