Govt grants immunity to Green Climate Fund officials

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, October 2, 2016 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

THE Government has sign an agreement with the Green Climate Fund that grants immunity and privileges to staff of the global climate fund.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Rimbink Pato said the signing took place after the 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

With US$10 billion in pledges made thus far by developed countries and corporations for developing countries for the fund- Minister Pato pointed out the country has struggled to access some of the funds geared toward climate change projects.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the first international fund under the United Nations with the express goal of supporting countries in the global South build clean energy, climate resilient economies.

GCF is set to become one of the most significant public funders of climate projects and programs globally.

Pato said accessibility has always been an issue for the country, and it is the same issue with other countries of the Pacific Countries of the pacific islands.

“One of the ways which we can improve efficiency insofar as accessibility and capacity is concerned is to permit officers from the Green Climate Fund to come to our country, teach our people, develop the templates that are necessary so that we can access funding,” the minister explained.

“So we thought that it was a move in the right direction to enable efficiency and speedy processing of funding application from Papua New Guinea to grant them that status, and there was a press conference after that and we were commended by the global community for doing that.”

“So that our Office of Climate Change (Climate Change and Development Authority) will work closely with that organisation and address issues of capacity, the requirements that exist, and they will then draw templates or programs, which will assist in drawing the funding that is available for projects in Papua New Guinea.”

He said the Climate Fund projects are not tied down to particular amounts, or particular types of projects, and are wide and varied and so there are different opportunities that exist, adding that PNG is the first in the Pacific Islands regions to give such immunities.

“I think we are probably the first country that has granted immunity and formalised a relationship with the Green Climate Fund the way we have in terms of the 16 member states of the Pacific Islands Forum countries, excluding Australia and New Zealand.”

“Papua New Guinea is one of those countries that yearly suffered from Climate Change. The social and economic issues that our people are going through- so that is one clear project that I think our Office Of Climate Change is looking at as a project.”

“The opportunity for funding from the Green Climate Fund is not restrictive. The opportunities are there. It is up to our people, government institutions, NGOs, Civil Society- to work with the office of climate change and the officials of the Green Fund when they visit Papua New Guinea, which will be very soon following the signing of the Grant of Immunity and Privileges to identify those projects of impacting communities throughout our country.”