By Pita Ligaiula in Koror, Palau
Tonga’s Finance Minister Vika Sivoki Lavemaau has described the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) as a “game-changer” for the Blue Pacific and called on development partners to help fully capitalise the Pacific-owned climate and disaster resilience financing institution.
Speaking at a PRF side event on the margins of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau, Lavemaau said Tonga was proud to host the PRF as the region’s first Pacific-led and Pacific-owned climate and disaster resilience financing facility dedicated to communities.
“The Government and the people of the Kingdom of Tonga are proud to host our PRF as our first Pacific-led and owned regional climate and disaster resilience financing that is dedicated to our communities,” Lavemaau said.
“The PRF is a game-changer for the Blue Pacific.”
She said the facility offered a regional mechanism to support and amplify national resilience efforts at a scale not previously attempted by Pacific countries.
“It is a transformative and innovative idea to amplify all of our governments’ national efforts, but at a scale that we have never attempted before as a region, to match the urgency of our needs,” he said.
Lavemaau said the PRF was already playing an important role in supporting anticipatory action and preparedness in Tonga.
“In Tonga, in anticipation of events such as prolonged Super El Niño extreme weather conditions, the collaboration between the PRF and Weather Ready has been very important,” she said.
She said the focus was not only on investing in weather equipment but also on “proactive and inclusive anticipatory action investments”.
Lavemaau said the PRF would become increasingly important as a cornerstone of the Pacific’s regional financial architecture.
“As the cornerstone of our regional financial architecture, the mandate of the PRF, as our first Pacific-owned international financial institution, will become more potent over time to blend and multiply our regional access to financing,” she said.
The Tongan Finance Minister said the climate-ocean nexus was another major opportunity for the PRF.
“In Tonga’s case, it’s looking into monetising our vast blue capital as large ocean states into tangible fiscal resources on our government balance sheets to help fund our resilience needs,” she said.
She said the upcoming Pacific pre-COP meetings and COP31 offered an important opportunity to secure the PRF’s US$500 million capitalisation target.
“Pacific pre-COP and COP31 are unique opportunities ahead of us this year to secure our US$500 million capitalisation ask.
“We think it can be more ambitious than that in the future if the PRF grows,” Lavemaau said.
He said the Forum Chair had Tonga’s full support in urging development partners to fully capitalise the facility.
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa said the Palau meeting marked a major milestone for the PRF following the entry into force of its treaty in May.
“This year’s Forum in Palau marks a significant milestone as the first Forum Leaders’ Meeting to welcome the PRF as a legally established entity,” Waqa said.
He said 14 Forum member countries had now ratified the PRF Treaty.
“A vision first championed by Forum leaders has become a reality.
“The PRF represents something truly unique. It is the first Pacific-owned, Pacific-led, Pacific-managed regional resilience financing institution,” Waqa said.
Waqa said the facility had been created to ensure climate and disaster finance reached communities on the frontline of climate change.
“It is a practical demonstration of Pacific leadership responding to a Pacific challenge with a Pacific solution,” he said.
Waqa said the PRF had already started delivering results, with its first grant investments underway across nine Forum member countries.
“Today, I am pleased to advise that the PRF is already delivering results.
“Our first grant investments are underway across nine Forum members,” he said.
He said communities receiving early PRF support would provide a practical demonstration of what locally led resilience could achieve when communities were given resources to act.
“In the months ahead, these stories will be showcased at the Pacific pre-COP in Tuvalu and Fiji, and at COP31.
“They will demonstrate that investment in resilience isn’t just an abstract concept,” Waqa said.
He said resilience financing translated into “protected livelihoods, strengthened food and water security, preserved cultural heritage, and more resilient communities across our region”.
Waqa also issued a direct invitation to development partners to support the PRF’s expansion.
“To our partners, we extend a simple invitation. Walk this journey with us.
“An investment in the PRF is an investment in a resilient Pacific, and in strengthened Pacific leadership,” he said.
He said the facility offered a sustainable and non-debt-creating approach to financing climate and disaster resilience.
“It is an opportunity to support a sustainable, non-debt-creating solution that will serve Pacific communities.
“The Pacific has done its part. We have created the institution, established the governance framework, and demonstrated its early results.”
“We now invite you to help scale this success so that more communities across our Blue Pacific can benefit from the resilience that they deserve,” Waqa said.
