10 Dec 2015

Pacific nations seek easier access to climate finance

8:58 pm on 10 December 2015

Pacific Island nations are demanding easier access to money already committed to the region by industrialised nations to fight climate change.

Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Taukelina Finikaso

Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Taukelina Finikaso Photo: RNZI / Jamie Tahana

The foreign minister of Tuvalu made the call today in Paris, saying they cannot wait any longer for funds to be allocated.

Taukelina Finikaso says the region is not asking for more money but simply for easier access to already existing resources such as the Green Climate Fund.

Created in 2011 during the climate conference in Durban in South Africa the fund aims to raise US $100 billion by 2020 starting with US$15 billion for the next three years.

But Mr Finikaso says not only are Tuvalu's projects too small for the existing financial mechanisms but the country also lacks the scientific expertise to satisfy the conditions for accessing the money.

He says this includes the requirement that countries prove the challenges they are facing are directly linked to climate change.