Pacific leaders and climate finance practitioners will demonstrate how fit-for-purpose, country-owned finance is turning local innovation into systemic resilience through adaptation initiatives in Fiji, Nauru, Tonga and across the Pacific. The Pacific needs climate finance that is increasingly coordinated, flexible and responsive to national priorities, island contexts and the needs of frontline communities. This high-level side event will present a compelling investment case for fit-for-purpose adaptation finance through four Pacific-led models: integrated coastal fisheries and aquaculture resilience in Nauru; the Tonga Climate Change Fund as a national mechanism for locally led adaptation; nature-based seawalls protecting vulnerable coastal communities in Fiji; and SPCs Climate Innovation Co:Lab, which incubates Pacific-designed solutions with the potential to scale. Pacific government leaders, project practitioners and the Adaptation Fund will demonstrate how flexible finance can close critical adaptation gaps, strengthen country-owned systems and build coherent national portfolios aligned with National Adaptation Plans and Nationally Determined Contributions. Moving beyond discussion, the session will identify practical opportunities for climate funds, development partners and implementing entities to invest differently: backing national leadership, connecting community innovation with multilateral finance and scaling effective solutions across island contexts. It will demonstrate what becomes possible when Pacific countries are not simply recipients of climate finance, but lead its design, governance and delivery.

Venue

Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion

Speakers

Saliha Dobardzic, Adaptation Fund Programming and Innovation Unit Lead, Co:Lab beneficiary country, Nauru, Fiji, Tonga, SPC