Hon 'Aisake Eke and Mr Xianbin Yao

Tonga signed a $23.1 million grant agreement with the Asian Development Bank to fund a Climate Resilience Sector Project for Tonga yesterday, 25 February.

The Minister of Finance Hon ‘Aisake Eke signed the grant agreement with Mr Xianbin Yao, the Director-General of ADB’s Pacific Department, at the Ministry of Finance office, Nuku'alofa.

'Aisake said the project would help Tonga improve its preparedness for extreme weather events and mitigate climate change risks. 

Xianbin commended the Government of Tonga for taking action to mainstream climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into development planning and create forward looking adaptation strategies.

“In the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Ian this initiative will assist Tonga to climate proof infrastructure to improve long-term sustainability.”

Trust fund

The project will systematically incorporate climate resilience into national planning processes and strengthen Tonga’s capacity to develop, finance, implement and monitor pilot investments aimed at climate-proofing infrastructure and improving ecosystem resilience. It will also support an innovative sustainable financing mechanism that will provide small grants to help communities implement climate change adaptation and disaster risk resilience projects -a first for the Pacific in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, they stated.

An initial endowment of $5 million will be provide to the Tonga Climate Change Trust Fund.

The project is supported by the bank's Pacific Sub-Regional Office (SPSO) in Suva which undertakes strategic planning, country programming, economic sector work, overall portfolio management and regional cooperation activities in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu.

Robert Jauncey ADB’s new Regional-Director at the SPSO office was also present at the event.