At the Green Climate Fund (GCF) 27th Meeting of the Board on 10 November 2020, the Funding Proposal (FP) No. 147, “Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for resilience in 5 island countries of the Pacific Ocean”, with a budget of US$49.9 million (GCF grant: US$47.4 million) was officially approved.

The transformative new programme initiated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to establish climate and ocean information services and multi-hazard early warning systems in Pacific Small Island Developing States, which are among the most vulnerable in the world when it comes to climate change, natural disasters, and increasingly frequent or intense extreme climate events such as tropical cyclones, flooding, and drought.

According to UNEP, at least 80% of the Pacific Island’s population will directly benefit from the programme through the promotion of diversified, climate-resilient livelihood practices informed by improved observation data and risk knowledge. The programme aims to achieve a 15-30% reduction in economic damage and losses incurred due to climate-related hazards, and to enhance the productivity of climate risk-informed sectors.

APCC will serve as one of eight technical partners in this programme. APCC’s activities will focus on improving the already established Pacific Island Countries Advanced Seasonal Outlook (PICASO) system for the five countries, including adding some sector application features, as well as conducting capacity building activities for the five countries, such as the popular Young Scientists Support Program.