United Kingdom (Commonwealth Union)_ The Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH) has deployed three Commonwealth National Climate Finance Advisers to the Maldives, Nauru, and Seychelles islands to bolster its support in the African and Indo-Pacific regions. Developing countries have incorporated ambitious goals into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). However, they can only achieve these goals if they have sufficient and accessible climate finance and can successfully navigate the challenging landscape of climate finance.
In order to accomplish this, they must have the necessary human, institutional, and technical resources to satisfy donor requirements for funding proposals. Herein lies the role of the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Center. The Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub seeks to aid small and other vulnerable Commonwealth nations, which frequently endure the burden of climate change, by facilitating improved access to millions of dollars designated for climate action.
The CCFAH employs a hub-and-spoke structure, with a central hub in Mauritius supported by regional and national climate finance advisers embedded in regional institutions and government departments and ministries in Commonwealth beneficiary nations. These advisors are subsequently able to aid in the development of local capacity to access climate finance. The Hub has also appointed 18 Commonwealth National Climate Finance Advisors throughout Africa, the Pacific, and the Caribbean as of April 2023.
There are presently fourteen advisors in position in member states to support climate finance mobilization. CCFAH has thus far assisted in securing $250 million in climate finance for 67 initiatives, including grants and concessional loans. The 3 newly appointed Commonwealth National Climate Finance Advisers to the Maldives, Nauru, and Seychelles islands will collaborate with the respective government departments to assist in the preparation of project proposals to access climate finance.
Together with government officials, they will assist in strengthening human and institutional capacity for developing and procuring climate finance for projects, devising strategies, and other essential activities. The following are some of the highlights of their work. Mr. Sagar Joshi will collaborate with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology in the Maldives to establish a National Climate Change Trust Fund and prepare the fund’s operational manuals and procedures.
Mr. Syed Amjad Hussain will assist the Department of Climate Change and National Resilience (DCCNR) in Nauru by strengthening the capacity of relevant government departments and other organizations in order to improve access to climate finance. Mr. Aurelius Nkonde will collaborate with the Energy and Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change in the Seychelles. He will contribute to the creation of climate finance strategies and also develop a climate finance mobilization strategy and action plan.
