Apenisa Waqairadovu 
After 40 years, Pacific leaders have signed and ratified a new regional treaty, this time to establish a financing facility aimed at supporting vulnerable communities across the region facing the impacts of climate change and disaster risks.
The Pacific Resilience Facility is a Pacific-led initiative and is expected to become operational by next year.
It was developed by members of the Pacific Islands Forum in response to the ongoing challenges many developing countries face in accessing global climate finance.
Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa says the signing marks a significant milestone, as member countries have now formally committed to the capitalisation of the PRF.
He stated that climate finance is not just about money, it’s also about equity, justice, and fairness.
PIF Chair and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele echoed this sentiment, describing the PRF as a bold step toward regional resilience.
“The PRF is the Pacific’s response by the Pacific, for the Pacific to structural barriers that small island nations face in accessing global climate finance, which remains too slow, too little, too complex, and unpredictable.”
He described the facility as a game-changing institution that will help address existential threats to Pacific communities and ensure no one is left behind.
Headquartered in Tonga, the facility will mobilise resources at both national and community levels.
The initial fundraising target is US $500 million, and Manele urged leaders to continue their support as the treaty is presented at the upcoming UNDP meeting in New York later this month.
Tonga and Nauru have become the first countries to formally deposit their instruments of ratification for the facility.
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