Complex realities of Pacific climate finance

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan just weeks away, environmental leaders from around the world are preparing to address one of the key global issues.

For the Pacific, James Ellsmoor, co-founder and director of Island Innovation, is adamant the focus must be on meaningful climate adaptation measures.

“Adaptation is far more important for small island nations,” Ellsmoor said.

He highlighted the challenges these regions face, such as access to clean water, waste disposal, and food security.

Ellsmoor also expressed frustration at how these needs get overshadowed by “big, shiny things” like over-the-top projects to build floating islands or construct defensive walls.

Island Innovation is a social enterprise dedicated to promoting sustainable development across island and rural communities worldwide. Photo/Island Innovation

“These are not realistic with the technology or financing available.”

One of the most pressing issues he addressed was the bureaucratic maze surrounding climate finance.

“Why are we forcing small island developing states to subscribe to the same mitigation standards as large-emitting countries?”

With tiny ministries often operating with just a handful of staff, island nations face challenges when it comes to navigating complex international agreements and meeting paperwork requirements that divert resources from pressing adaptation needs.

“It always amazes me how people working in these tiny ministries achieve so much with so little,” Ellsmoor said.

Funding, Ellsmoor pointed out, remains the most critical and contentious topic as COP29 approaches.

He stressed that while steps have been made to make climate finance more accessible, such as regional efforts to streamline the Green Climate Fund application process, significant barriers persist.

The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP29, will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11-22 November. Photo/COP29 Green Zone.

“People in the Pacific have to do backflips to get climate funding for basic infrastructure like hospitals or schools.”

Ellsmoor also touched on a growing sense of fatigue around climate summits, most recently with Papua New Guinea withdrawing from COP29 in protest of empty promises and especially with scepticism over host nations’ commitments.

Azerbaijan’s status as an oil-producing country has only fueled doubts.

“Countries are looking to hold people accountable, but politics always complicates progress.”

Despite these obstacles, Ellsmoor remains cautiously optimistic.

“There have been incremental steps in the right direction,”

He stressed that the global community must take a more equity-focused approach to climate finance and adaptation by prioritising the urgent, everyday needs of island communities over eye-catching projects.

Listen to the full interview here.