Pacific demands ‘tangible outcomes’ on climate finance
Ms Kwansing said the Pacific wanted an ex-post reimbursement mechanism because "climate finance is difficult to access".
Monday 05 October 2026 | 09:00
Kiribati's Minister for Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs Ruth Cross Kwansing.
Photo: Ronald Kumar
Kiribati's Minister for Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs, Ruth Cross Kwansing, says the Pacific will ask world leaders at Pre-COP31 in Nadi this week to back a change that would pay small island states back for climate projects after they are finished.
Ms Kwansing said the Pacific wanted an ex-post reimbursement mechanism because "climate finance is difficult to access".
She said the mechanism would be guided by a vulnerability index for small island developing states.
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"That is a tangible and concrete outcome that we're seeking and we really hope for your support," she said on Sunday.
Her message to leaders was simple.
"We're all here for action and we're all here for tangible outcomes that actually reach our communities," she said.
She thanked leaders for travelling "all that way" to the Pacific.
Pacific unity
Ms Kwansing said the region would be stronger if it spoke with one voice.
"When we approach this in a scattered approach as in every nation for themselves, it doesn't work," she said.
She said Kiribati's Minister for Line and Phoenix Islands Development, Mikarite Temari, would represent the President in the leaders' talks in Tuvalu. She will not travel there.
She also thanked the Fijian Government and Australia, the Pacific's lead negotiator, for creating the space.
Feedback: kaneta.naimatau@fijisun.com.fj
