The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness 1 project with its delivery partners, the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) is working on building the capacity of the MECDM to fulfil its role as the National Designated Authority (NDA) to engage the GCF in the Solomon Islands.
This week a structured dialogue was organized for the NDA, Accredited Entities (EA’s), Readiness delivery partners and representatives of the Government, civil society organizations, and relevant stakeholders in the Solomon Islands.
Speaking from Samoa Director General of SPREP Mr. Sefanaia Nawadra said that SPREP’s status an AE to the GCF has amplified its role to continue to serve and work in partnership with PICT’s to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the region.
“The GCF serving as the implementation vehicle for the Parish Agreement provides opportunity for scaled transformative climate investment to build climate resilience for parties to the accord. The GCF Readiness project in partnership with the Solomon Islands Government is designed to enhance the country’s readiness to access more funds from the GCF” Mr Nawadra said.
The GCF Readiness project has 5 key fundamental outputs that needs to be achieved. They include;
Mr Nawadra said it is pleasing to note that with support from the Solomon Islands Government significant progress has been made in many of these outputs. He further stated that SPREP will continue to provide the support Solomon Islands need for this project and related initiatives to address the impacts of climate change in the country.
Currently the implementation of the SIG/GCF Readiness and related GCF projects are coordinated by SPREP through the Project Coordination Unit (PCU) and Pacific Climate Change Centre.
Among others one of the major projects the country has benefited from through the GCF is the Tina Hydro Power Development project with GCF financing in the tune of USD$86 million.
-MECDM Press