The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved Project Preparation Facility (PPF) support for the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) to develop the Fiji Climate-Smart Agriculture Guarantee, a proposed initiative that aims to expand access to climate finance for Fiji’s agricultural sector and strengthen resilience to climate change.
Through this support, GCF will provide specialised project preparation support to prepare a full funding proposal for potential consideration by the GCF Board, subject to GCF’s review and appraisal process. The project preparation process is expected to be implemented over nine months and will support the development of a robust investment programme for Fiji’s climate-smart agriculture sector.
The proposed project is being developed to help address financing barriers across Fiji’s agricultural value chains and support investment in climate-smart technologies and practices, including through the integration of traditional knowledge and mobilization of additional investment across climate-resilient agricultural value chains.
Under the approved preparation support, technical studies and stakeholder consultations will be undertaken to assess climate vulnerabilities, identify priority agricultural value chains, evaluate financial and economic viability, and develop the environmental, social and gender assessments/frameworks required for a full funding proposal submission to the GCF.
The project preparation work will also support the design of the proposed guarantee mechanism, including its operational arrangements, risk management systems, monitoring frameworks and eligibility criteria for climate-smart investments. Indicative technologies and practices to be assessed include climate-resilient crops, solar-powered water pumping systems, water management technologies, cooling and ice-making equipment, biodigesters and cyclone-resilient agricultural infrastructure.
Filimone Waqabaca, Chief Executive Officer of the Fiji Development Bank, said: “This approval represents an important milestone in FDB’s efforts to expand climate finance to Fiji’s natural sectors that we intend to do by listening to our farmers, fishers, foresters, agribusiness entrepreneurs and other relevant stakeholders to develop an innovative guarantee facility that can unlock greater investment in climate-smart agriculture and strengthen livelihoods across Fiji.”
To date, GCF has provided more than USD$12 million in Project Preparation Facility support across 19 grants for single country projects in Small Island Developing States, and another USD$15.5 million PPF support for multi-country projects that include SIDS. This underscores the PPF’s role as an important entry point to climate finance.
Hemant Mandal, the Green Climate Fund’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific said: “Small Island Developing States face some of the most acute climate risks yet often face the greatest barriers in accessing finance. This project preparation support will help develop a high-quality investment proposal that can channel climate finance to those who need it most, while demonstrating how national institutions such as the Fiji Development Bank can play a leading role in delivering climate action on the ground.”
FDB and GCF acknowledged the support of the Government of Fiji, Fiji’s National Designated Authority, and key partners that have contributed to the development of the initiative to date, including the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Climate Finance Access Network (CFAN).
The approved project preparation support is intended to facilitate the development and submission of a full funding proposal to the Green Climate Fund within two years of approval of the PPF application.
GCF is the world’s climate fund for developing countries, mobilising and delivering capital at scale, strengthening institutions and supporting transformative change, and bringing together our extensive partnership networks to deliver impact.
GCF is mandated as the primary operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and serves the 2015 Paris Agreement.
To fulfill its role in supporting global climate ambition, GCF is focused on delivering high-impact climate finance at scale, underpinned by a country-owned approach focused on system-wide change.
The fund has over USD$20 billion committed across 134 developing countries through a wide range of adaptation and mitigation projects.
The Fiji Development Bank is Fiji’s national development bank and a Direct Access Entity to the Green Climate Fund. FDB mobilises finance to support sustainable economic development, climate resilience and inclusive growth across Fiji.
