Credit: UNFCCC

 

Credit: UNFCCC

Background

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, under the Needs-Based Finance Project (NBF) Project, supports developing countries in finding ways and means to access, mobilize, and scale up climate finance. The NBF project has been developed in response to decisions of the Conference of the Parties regarding Long-term finance.  In the Pacific region, the UNFCCC has supported the Melanesian Spearhead Group of Member States in determining the region's climate finance needs and priorities and has recently extended this support to more countries in the region, through a partnership with the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFs). The Needs-Based Finance Project is now at stage where a draft Climate Finance Access and Mobilization Strategy, and a draft Technical Assessment of Needs and Climate Finance Flows of the region have been developed and seek to be approved by all countries. Furthermore, countries have call for training on how to access finance.

Convened by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat and supported by the Government of the Netherlands, the Government of Indonesia, and OPEC Fund for Development, the Validation and Training Workshop for Pacific Islands provides a forum for the official signing of the Pacific Islands-Indonesia-Netherlands Network (PINN) agreement. Furthermore, it aims to complete and endorse the Technical Assessment of Climate Finance Flows and Needs and the Climate Finance Mobilization and Access Strategy. This will be followed by a training workshop to be conducted jointly by the operating entities of the Financial Mechanism: Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and the Adaptation Fund (AF) and potentially others (e.g., accredited entities).

The aim is to provide a deeper understanding of project development, structuring, and submission as required by each fund or institution, and to further develop a pipeline of project draft concepts agreed upon by all countries. The skills learned in the forum will enable participants to access finance for priority project proposals for the region. Furthermore, they will allow participants to develop project proposals to mobilize finance from both public and private sources at the international, regional, and national levels. The forum also serves as an opportunity for national experts to engage with each other, exchange information on their priority needs, and deliberate on ways to address common challenges as a group. Participants will be invited to come prepared, empowered to actively engage, share, and agree on the outcomes.