French President Emmanuel Macron appeals to the world to do more on climate change. Video: Al Jazeera
French President Emmanuel Macron has delivered a rallying cry to world leaders that more must be done to fight climate change.
But he told the global One Planet Summit in Paris that they were currently “losing the battle”.
The summit is promoting greater worldwide investment in clean energy, reports Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler.
From Suva, The Fiji Times reports that of the various commitments on climate finance made at COP23 in Bonn, Germany, last month, only a small proportion will be finding its way into supporting climate adaptation or resilience.
Better green funding needed
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama made this statement while speaking at the Paris summit, reports Alisi Vucago.
“The data on this is clear. For many donors, this is simply regarded as development assistance. And for private sector investors, the absence of an immediate and apparent economic return on their investment means that funding climate adaptation or resilience efforts are rarely pursued,” said the COP23 co-president.
“The leaders on this panel are fully aware of the need to make substantial investments in our infrastructure to protect against the danger of climate change.”
Bainimarama said Fiji was focused on rebuilding and strengthening our infrastructure in a climate resilient way, with blended finance from institutions like the Green Climate Fund and multilateral development banks to supplement the Fijian government’s own capital investments.
“And we are developing insurance products for the Pacific region which are currently not available for climate-related events, which could be replicated beyond the region,” he said.
