EVENT: Climate resilience in the Pacific: What is needed and Australia’s role

The Pacific is one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world, facing frequent and severe extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Adaptation and resilience-building are vital to helping Pacific communities cope, but financial assistance is insufficient and difficult to access.

Pacific leaders have responded to this gap with the creation of the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF). The PRF is the first Pacific-led, owned and managed fund dedicated to financing community-centred adaptation and resilience solutions in Pacific Island countries. The Australian government pledged $100 million to the Facility in 2023. However, far more is still needed and from a wider set of donors.

The Lowy Institute was delighted to host Finau Soqo, General Manager of the Pacific Resilience Facility, for a panel discussion on climate finance in the Pacific and Australia’s role. Ms Soqo was joined by His Excellency Samson Vilvil Fare, High Commissioner of the Republic of Vanuatu, one of the world’s worst affected countries by climate change, and Kristin Tilley, Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change. The panel will be chaired by Dr Melanie Pill, Climate Change Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute’s Indo-Pacific Development Centre. The discussion was followed by an audience Q&A.

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