‘Island States in the Indian Ocean (ISIO) Climate Finance Mobilization and Access Strategy Workshop’ has begun today at Hotel Jen. This two day workshop was inaugurated by Minister of Environment Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan. The objective of the workshop is to review and finalize the draft Island States in the Indian Ocean Climate Finance Mobilization and Access Strategy and to develop an implementation plan. The participants of this workshop will be invited to exchange information on the climate finance data needs and availability at the country level and develop an engagement strategy for UNFCCC COP 26 on climate finance. Further, the workshop will serve as an opportunity for national experts in the island States to engage with partner institutions, exchange information on their priority needs and deliberate on an Implementation Framework for the Climate Finance Mobilization and Access Strategy.
This workshop is organized by Ministry of Environment, Maldives, and Co-organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The participating countries of this workshop are Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar and Maldives.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Environment Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan said that Maldives has embraced low emission growth as means to achieve economic growth, energy security, reduce emissions and show leadership in tackling climate crisis and achieve sustainable transition and that the domestic budget allocations for climate change and adaptation for the year 2020 have been significantly increased. On this note, Minister said that over 2 billion Maldivian rufiyaa (129 million USD) from the public sector investment programme budget for 2020 has been allocated for climate adaptation and mitigation projects.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of State for Environment Dr. Abdulla Naseer said that while coastal erosion is just one of the many adverse impacts of climate change, protecting all the islands is very costly and the government is not in a position to afford without international support.
This workshop would better strengthen the partnerships and would create an excellent opportunity for island states in the Indian Ocean to network and strengthen the collaboration and to find solutions to the common challenges, as well as exchange information on the priority needs and deliberate on an Implementation Framework for the Climate Finance Mobilization and Access Strategy.
