Climate change poses a significant threat to low-lying Pacific Island nations, where extreme weather and rising sea levels jeopardise their existence.
KPMG’s Enterprise Advisory team in Fiji is collaborating with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to help countries like the Solomon Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Nauru towards gaining direct access accreditation for grant funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF). This fund, valued at $13.5 billion, is the world’s largest climate fund and a financial arm of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The GCF aims to combat climate change through mitigation and adaptation projects in more than 120 countries worldwide, in line with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to below 2°C.
Our KPMG Fiji team has worked with the SPREP to provide readiness support to the Solomon Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Nauru.
KPMG Senior Consultant Kalei Seniloli said despite contributing less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pacific nations bear the brunt of climate change impacts.
"The GCF’s Readiness Programme helps these countries develop long-term plans to fight climate change," she said.
"The fund encourages countries to manage their climate projects independently, but to do so, they need accreditation to receive direct grant funding for substantial projects."
SPREP Climate Finance Readiness Advisor, Mr Fred Siho Patison, applauded the collaboration and reflected on the ongoing challenges that Pacific Island countries and territories face in accessing climate finance. As such, enabling country-level direct accreditation to the GCF with support from KPMG was a step in the right direction.
Projects such as constructing seawalls to protect against rising sea levels require multimillion-dollar investments. Beyond funding, accreditation ensures that projects and grants are well managed and genuinely impactful.
KPMG’s team offer readiness support by conducting gap analyses and developing strategies to help countries become eligible for significant grants. This involves establishing governance, procurement policies, audit functions, project management structures, and environmental and social safeguards.
In collaboration with SPREP, the Pacific Island countries are now advancing to the next stage, securing additional funding to implement their GCF accreditation plans. This marks a critical step forward in their journey toward full accreditation, empowering them to access climate finance directly and build long-term resilience against climate change.
