Riya Bhagwan 
[Photo: File]
Fiji needs $9.8billion to implement its climate resilience interventions, says Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Dr. Sivendra Michael.
The figure is outlined in the Nationally Determined Contribution Costing 3.0 report, released last year.
Dr Michael says the cost of building climate-resilient infrastructure remains a major challenge for Fiji.
He says climate-proofing infrastructure can cost significantly more than conventional construction.
“There was a recent case study we did with FRA where a one kilometer climate resilient road that is cut in the right way, uses the right materials, and is subject to different weather patterns, can cost up to a million dollars, as opposed to a rural road that is cut in a particular angle, is used with different materials that is subject to runoff, subject to being washed off, that can cost less than a fifth of that cost.”
However, Dr Michael highlights that securing the required finance remains a major challenge.
He says the current climate finance architecture needs to better respond to the needs of Pacific countries.
According to him, funding is not being made available at the scale and speed required.
The call for greater access to climate finance comes alongside calls for more investment in Indigenous-led and Pacific-led solutions.
IUCN Regional Nature-based Solutions Programme Coordinator Vinay Singh says most of the region’s resources are Indigenous-owned.
He says solutions must therefore be designed and led by Pacific communities.
