Ritika Pratap 
[Source: Biman Prasad DPM/ Facebook]
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad, participated in a panel discussion alongside India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, during the NEXT Milan Forum held in Italy.
The panel focused on the theme ‘Balancing Economic and Climate Resilience’.
Prasad delivered a strong statement on the profound impact of climate change in the Pacific, noting that for SIDS, climate change is a lived reality.
[Source: Biman Prasad DPM/ Facebook]
He highlighted that a single Category 5 cyclone can wipe out up to 50% of our GDP in some of the smaller Pacific Islands and stressed the urgency and scale of climate finance required.
[Source: Biman Prasad DPM/ Facebook]
He welcomed the establishment of the New Collective Quantified Goal and the Loss and Damage Fund but stressed that Pacific SIDS require a differentiated approach to climate finance.
Prasad emphasises the need to decolonise climate finance and calls on those historically responsible to significantly scale up their commitments and simplify access to funding.
The NEXT Milan Forum was a two-day event that brought together over 1,000 young professionals from over 60 countries to exchange views on pressing global challenges.
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