3 Sep 2013

Tuvalu leader details difficulties obtaining climate change funds

3:05 pm on 3 September 2013

The prime minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga, says it is very difficult for small island countries to access the funds for mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Mr Sopoaga, who was speaking ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum summit in the Marshall Islands says there is too much talk and not enough action to combat climate change.

He says people in the low lying nations such as Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and Kiribati are already suffering the effects but they face huge difficulties accessing the funds set aside by the international community for adaptation measures.

"You probably need in Tuvalu to spend one whole year to write papers, to write reports, to run workshops, to get consultancies, in order to come up with a bankable proposal. This is unacceptable while the land keeps on being eroded. So we have to do better than that."

The prime minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga