Background

Pacific Island Countries are among those most affected by the impacts of climate change. Rising sea levels, intensifying tropical cyclones, saltwater intrusion, coral bleaching and coastal erosion are already affecting communities, livelihoods and ecosystems across the region.

Through their latest NDCs, Pacific countries have set out ambitious mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage priorities that reflect their national circumstances and development aspirations. The next step is to translate these commitments into structured implementation pathways, identify and sequence priority actions, and mobilize the financial and technical support required for delivery.

The financing context in the Pacific presents particular challenges. Geographic remoteness, small and dispersed markets, limited economies of scale, high costs of capital, debt burdens and institutional capacity constraints can make it difficult to develop and finance climate programmes.

At the same time, countries are engaging with a growing range of bilateral and multilateral funders and exploring innovative financial instruments. Strengthening countries’ capacity to navigate this landscape, develop finance-ready programmes and coordinate implementation support will be central to the workshop.

The event builds on the NDC Regional Forums, NDC Clinics and the first peer exchange workshop on NDC implementation held during the Third Climate Week in Yeosu, Republic of Korea. It also responds to the mandate established in the Mutirão Decision to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and good practices related to NDCs.

Objectives

The workshop, jointly organized by the Regional Pacific NDC Hub, the UNFCCC secretariat and its Regional Collaboration Centre for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the NDC Partnership and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, will provide a platform for Pacific countries to exchange experiences and lessons learned on the transition from NDC formulation to implementation.

Discussions will focus on:

• translating NDC priorities into practical and finance-ready implementation pathways;
• identifying approaches to prioritize and sequence actions according to national circumstances;
• matching NDC actions with appropriate sources of finance;
• structuring implementation through programmatic, sectoral or subregional approaches; and
• strengthening coordination across ministries, government levels and development partners.

Expected outcomes

The workshop is expected to contribute to:

• a stronger understanding of country-led approaches to translating Pacific NDCs into actionable implementation pathways;
• enhanced capacity to prioritize, sequence and match NDC actions with suitable sources of finance, including grants, concessional finance and innovative instruments; and
• improved preparedness to structure NDC implementation in ways that facilitate financing and coordinated action across sectors and government institutions.

Participants

The workshop will bring together government representatives from Pacific Island Countries involved in NDC implementation, including officials from environment, finance, planning and relevant sectoral ministries and agencies.

Given the whole-of-government nature of NDC implementation, cross-ministerial participation is strongly encouraged.

Regional institutions and bilateral and multilateral development partners active in the Pacific will also participate in targeted discussions on climate finance and the coordination of implementation support.