[Photo: Supplied]

Fiji is losing around $500 million annually to climate-related events, with floods and cyclones accounting for about 80 percent of the damage.

This was highlighted by Permanent Secretary for Climate Change Dr Sivendra Michael during the Ministry’s submission to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense on the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance.

Dr Michael says climate change is already placing a significant economic burden on Fiji, making long-term investment in resilience critical.

He says the Vuvale Union provides Fiji with a 10-year framework to plan and implement climate resilience projects, rather than relying only on short-term, project-by-project support.

“Our role is to translate the climate and environmental commitments into practical action, aligned with our national laws and international obligations. The Vuvale Union is a more directly relevant instrument for our portfolio. It firstly reaffirms the board declaration, which expanded security to include climate change, which expanded the definition of security to include climate change, (environmental degradation, economic security and human security.”

Dr Michael says priority areas include climate-resilient water systems, stronger ports, and renewable energy for remote communities, coastal protection, meteorological monitoring and early warning systems.

He says that there is a need to make better use of bilateral funding, as accessing multilateral climate finance can be a lengthy and complicated process.

Dr Michael says some global climate funds can take years to approve projects, with extensive documentation and multiple levels of review required.

He says the bilateral partnership with Australia provides an opportunity to simplify the process and allow Fiji to have a stronger role in deciding how funding is used.

He says the focus should be on ensuring climate funding translates into practical projects that protect communities and strengthen Fiji’s resilience.