LONDON, ENGLAND – The Commonwealth Secretariat has announced the appointment of a consortium of experts to advise on ocean-climate finance; generously supported by the United Kingdom, the appointment is a joint venture of the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub and the Commonwealth Blue Charter.
The consortium will work with Commonwealth governments, through the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub’s regional and national climate finance advisers, to help them develop proposals and access funding for ocean-based adaptation and mitigation activities, as detailed in national climate plans submitted to the United Nations.
The consortium will also work to strengthen institutional and individual capacity and knowledge in use of financial instruments and financing mechanisms for climate finance proposals.
Ocean crisis
Dr Arjoon Suddhoo, deputy secretary-general at the Commonwealth Secretariat said: “We know that the climate crisis is also an ocean crisis. The importance of the ocean can be better reflected in current access to climate financing. This collaboration with support from the United Kingdom will begin to address this fundamental issue’.
This appointment will initially be until March 2022. This funding builds on previous support over 2018 – 2020 by the United Kingdom to the Commonwealth Secretariat to support the Commonwealth Blue Charter.
The Commonwealth Blue Charter is a commitment by 54 countries to cooperate actively to tackle the global challenges facing our ocean. It is implemented through ten action groups that are led by 16 champion countries that engage members and other partners around key issues such as marine pollution, ocean climate action and the sustainable blue economy.
The Commonwealth Finance Access Hub helps small and other vulnerable member states to access climate finance by embedding highly-skilled long-term national and regional advisers in relevant government departments to build capacity and help develop successful funding proposals. CCFAH has deployed advisers in 16 countries, and to date, secured around US$44 million in climate finance, with US$ 762 million in the pipeline.