Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged governments and financial institutions at COP31 to increase support for the Pacific Resilience Facility, a Pacific-led body backing community projects to reduce climate risks.
In a speech in Antalya, Türkiye, on Nov. 12, Albanese said Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands announced contributions at this year’s Pre-COP, bringing the investor group to 23. Fiji separately announced a US$10 million contribution, which he described as a sign of Pacific participation in the facility.
Pacific contributors had supplied 46% of the funding to date, Albanese said. Australia joined as an early investor with a $100 million contribution. His latest appeal follows his earlier call for climate finance for vulnerable nations, which also pointed to the facility.
Albanese cited support for schools in Kiribati working to improve water access, along with community sanitation and waste-management efforts in Solomon Islands. He said the facility also connects global finance to local work on food systems, infrastructure and disaster preparedness.
To explain the need for resilience funding, Albanese pointed to pressures in Tuvalu. He cited homes exposed to storm-driven flooding, water supplies strained by drought and saltwater intrusion, and livelihoods under pressure. He said this year’s super El Niño was adding to those conditions.
Albanese argued that work undertaken before disasters can reduce the burden on households and governments afterward. He said the facility needs more capital to serve Pacific communities at the level they require, and described it as a locally shaped response to climate risks.
He called on governments, development partners, financial institutions, investors and philanthropic organizations to make commitments and provide funding. The speech gave no deadline for the next contributions.
