The United States is committed to keeping 1.5 degrees Celsius limit on global warming within reach, including through outreach to major emitters to raise ambition and to take action in this critical decade.
“We are committed to helping Pacific Islands manage both sudden-onset impacts of climate change, such as major storms, and slow-onset impacts such as sea-level rise,” states the Office of the Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State. “To date, USAID has helped Pacific Islands countries unlock more than $500 million from international organizations such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund, and the Global Environment Facility.”
“The Administration will also work to scale the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) in the region to deliver quality, sustainable energy, physical, digital, health, and climate-resilient infrastructure.”
• Technical Assistance Support for the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Pacific Resilience Facility: The United States intends to provide $2 million, subject to Congressional notification and the completion of domestic procedures, to support the PIF to design and stand up the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF). This program is envisioned to support investments into enhancing adaptation and resilience at the local level in the Pacific Islands. The United States is proud to be among the founding development partners for this important new initiative promoting better access to climate finance in the Pacific.
• Reaffirming New Sea-level Rise Policy: The United States reaffirms our sea-level rise policy announced at the September 2022 Summit, which says that climate change-driven sea-level rise “should not diminish” maritime economic zones of coastal states and calls on all countries to commit to supporting this policy by COP 28.
• Transportation Partnership with the Pacific Islands (TPPI): The Department of Transportation (DOT) and U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) conducted a joint scoping trip to Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga in February 2023 on transportation priorities and challenges to inform the basis for bilateral and regional technical assistance and capacity building activities. Initial near-term DOT cooperation will focus on aviation safety with the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO) and bilaterally through Federal Aviation Administration engagement. In the medium-term, DOT is exploring other areas of cooperation, including maritime development, decarbonization, transportation safety, sustainability, planning, and inclusivity. USTDA is also currently evaluating transportation opportunities in airport and port upgrades, aviation safety, drone delivery, EVs, and climate-smart transportation.
• Pacific Islands Port Leaders Visit: USTDA will host a Pacific Islands Port Leaders Visit Reverse Trade Mission that will bring a delegation of 15 port sector leaders from the Pacific Islands to the United States to familiarize them with U.S. technologies, services, and best practices that can improve port operations, security, and sustainability in the region. The visit advances the goals of the Transportation Partnership with the Pacific Islands, launched last September, by promoting sustainable transportation infrastructure in the region.
• Pacific Islands Strategic Infrastructure Initiative: USTDA launched a call for proposals to develop quality infrastructure for the Pacific Islands and conducted a six-country scoping mission to the Pacific Islands. The Call for Proposals closed in April 2023, and USTDA is currently evaluating over 80 proposals from 11 Pacific Islands countries that have the potential to develop high-quality infrastructure projects and help unlock financing. This work builds on USTDA’s current activities in the Pacific Islands aimed at unlocking over $450 million in financing for clean energy, connectivity, and digital infrastructure solutions.