The Assistant Minister for Finance, Strategic Planning, National Development and Statistics, Esrom Immanuel has called on developed countries and partners to step up with their climate financing commitments.
He made this call while launching the Financial Management Policy Guidelines and Information Briefs of the Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund at the Novotel Hotel in Lami.
Immanuel says Fiji, together with other Pacific Island Countries are in a state of emergency and the lives and livelihoods of communities are increasingly endangered as these events increase in severity.
He says communities are no longer safe, and some see relocation as there only option, however, a well-planned relocation exercise is costly.
He adds past relocation projects undertaken in Fiji indicate that the cost of relocating a community can range anywhere from one to three million Fijian dollars depending on the size of the community and the distance to the new site.
The Assistant Minister says with more communities being affected, Fiji would need more support, more financing and more technical expertise.
Immanuel further added that the Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund would provide an avenue to invest in the relocation processes of vulnerable communities in Fiji.
