Fiji is being urged to take concrete actions to access climate financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to enable the implementation of large-scale renewable energy projects. One of the recommendations is to have more accredited agencies that can facilitate the submission of these projects to the GCF for financial support.
KOOKAI – Lyndhurst Group’s chief executive officer, Rokoseru Nabalarua, highlighted that currently, there are only two accredited agencies in Fiji, including the Fiji Development Bank (FDB). He proposed that the Ministry of Finance could potentially serve as one of these accredited agencies.
During a post-budget forum earlier this week, Nabalarua noted, “I understand there’s quite a lot of funds available, and several Pacific island countries have already accessed them.” He mentioned a discussion with Ambassador Amena Yauvoli about channeling renewable projects through this financing resource.
“This would enable us to access those funds, securing both grants and soft loans to develop large renewable projects, mainly hydro projects, which are typically very costly,” Nabalarua stated.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Prof Biman Prasad acknowledged that Fiji has faced challenges in presenting strong proposals in the past. “If, as a country, we are able to submit proposals effectively, we are pushing very hard within the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. We are very clear when discussing the limitations we face in relying solely on even soft loans; it’s still borrowing,” he explained.
Prasad expressed hope for more grant financing, especially for climate-resilient infrastructure and mitigation efforts such as renewable energy projects.