Commonwealth National Climate Finance Advisers deployed to Maldives, Nauru and Seychelles

Developing countries have enshrined ambitious targets within their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). However, they are only able to attain these targets if they have adequate and accessible climate finance and are able to navigate the complex climate finance landscape. To do this they need to have the requisite human, institutional and technical capacity to meet donor requirements for funding proposals. This is where the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub comes in.

The Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub

The Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub aims to support small and other vulnerable Commonwealth countries, who often bear the brunt of climate change, by facilitating enhanced access to millions of dollars earmarked for climate action.

The CCFAH uses a hub-and-spokes approach with a central hub in Mauritius complemented by regional and national climate finance advisers embedded in regional institutions and government departments and ministries in beneficiary countries across the Commonwealth. These advisers are then able to help build on the ground capacity to access climate finance.

As of April 2023, the Hub has deployed 18 Commonwealth National Climate Finance Advisers across the Africa, Pacific and Caribbean regions. There are 14 advisers currently in place in member countries to support the mobilisation of climate finance. To date, US$250 million in climate finance for 67 projects, including grants and concessional loans, has been accessed with CCFAH support.

Country technical assistance

The three newly-deployed Commonwealth National Climate Finance Advisers in Maldives, Nauru and Seychelles will join respective government departments to help prepare project proposals to access climate finance.

They will work alongside government officials to help strengthen human and institutional capacity in developing and securing climate finance for projects, developing strategies and other key activities. Highlights of their work include:

In the Maldives, Mr. Sagar Joshi will be working with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology to develop a National Climate Change Trust Fund, as well as preparing associated operational manuals and procedures for the fund.

In Nauru, Mr. Syed Amjad Hussain will be supporting the Department of Climate Change and National Resilience (DCCNR) by building the capacity of relevant government agencies and other organisations to enhance access to climate finance.

In Seychelles, Mr. Aurelius Nkonde, will be working with the Energy and Climate Change Department, Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change. He will be contributing to the development of Climate Finance Strategies and developing a climate finance mobilisation strategy, along with a detailed action plan.

Outlook

The hub-and-spokes model of the CCFAH means that lessons learned and knowledge generated can easily be accumulated, shared and replicated within and across regions. For example, the Commonwealth National Climate Finance Adviser (CNCFA) for Maldives will draw on the work and experiences of the CNCFAs for Tonga who are helping to operationalise the Tonga Climate Change Fund. They can also draw knowledge from those who have supported Antigua and Barbuda in the revision of the operational manual of the Sustainable Island Resource Framework Fund (SIRF Fund).

The CNCFA for Seychelles will also build on the experiences of those for Belize and Grenada in the development of the Climate Finance Strategy for Belize and the Resource Mobilisation Strategy for NDC Implementation in Grenada respectively. This commitment to share expertise and experiences across the network ensures the benefits of the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub reach all Commonwealth countries.  

Learn more about the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub

Media contact

• Josephine Latu-Sanft  Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
• +44 20 7747 6476  |  E-mail