On June 29, 2017, the government of Fiji allocated $319.9 million for climate change-related projects in 2017/2018. 36 of the projects were designated as being focused on climate adaptation, and 13 of them are considered climate mitigation.
The 2017/2018 Budget contains a wide range of allocations designed to adapt the Fijian economy to the reality of climate change and carry out life-saving work to prepare Fiji for more severe climate effects that are predicted to impact the country.
Fiji has limited resources and adaptive capacity to safeguard its islands against the growing threat of climate change.
That’s why there was a need for renewed focus and leadership, and more concerted effort among all stakeholders–both domestically and globally–to take up the plight of SIDS (Small Island Developing States) to world leaders and advocate for substantive changes to practices that are harming our environment and increasing the world’s susceptibility to climate change.
Featured image is a home destroyed by Cyclone Winston in 2016 in Tailevu Province, Fiji (photo by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade).