by Charley Piringi in Antalya, Turkiye

Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) CEO Ibrahim Cheikh Diong assured Pacific leaders at COP31 that the global financing mechanism will cut bureaucratic delays to deliver accessible resources to vulnerable island nations.

“This fund was designed to be different, and we expect to hear your feedback to make sure we make it relevant to the countries of the region,” Diong stated, pledging that the fund must transition “from being ridiculous to being relevant, highly capitalized, and responsive to demand”. 

While recognizing that grant funding alone cannot meet the scale of the crisis, Diong stressed that securing effective climate relief requires deploying diverse financial mechanisms and consolidating global resources to reach the ultimate goal.

Speaking at the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion side event, Fiji’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change and PSIDS Chair, Lynda Tabuya, said the region’s climate issues daily lived realities and demanded immediate action which needs collective action from all pacific leaders and development and financing.

“For Pacific families, climate change means saltwater in drinking wells, damaged crops, fewer fish and homes threatened by rising seas,” Tabuya declared. Calling on delegates to turn global commitments into practical support, she added, “One Pacific. One voice. Real results for our people”.

A critical barrier for the region remains the agonizing delay in accessing these promised funds. 

Hon. Wayne Ghemu, Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology for Solomon Islands, cautioned that administrative hurdles in global finance frequently strip aid of its intended impact.

“The value of a dollar is shaped by timing,” Ghemu explained. “When we turn to global financial institutions for climate finance, the wait is long… By the time funds are approved, the cyclone has passed, costs have risen, and the project we designed is often no longer the project our communities need. Finance that arrives after the moment of need has missed its purpose”.

Exley Taloiburi, Head of Multilateral Governance at the Green Climate Fund, reinforced this urgency, noting that the country does not have a domestic accredited implementing entity.

“Right now, we do not have a national implementing entity in the Solomon Islands, we currently have a gap in that space.” Taloiburi said.

He added, “Our country is not only a victim of climate change; we are a changemaker, and a proactive leader at the international level,” Taloiburi said.

As COP31 negotiations intensify, Pacific delegates remain united in their core demand for the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage: simplify access, speed up delivery, and ensure funding arrives before the next cyclone strikes, rather than years after the devastation.