RESILIENCE agenda and resilience building features prominently in both the European Union humanitarian and development assistance in the country, says EU ambassador to Fiji and the Pacific Andrew Jacobs.
Speaking at the Pacific Resilience Week in Suva, Mr Jacobs said the event was significant because it was set to take place a few weeks away from the Paris Agreement entering into force.
“We are all too often painfully reminded year after year, cyclone after cyclone, drought after drought, about how fragile and vulnerable this region and the small island developing states are to the plight of disasters and climate change,” Mr Jacobs said.
“The EU stands ready to support Pacific countries in building their resilience but the transformation to low-emission climate and disaster-resilient societies and economies will only be achieved through large-scale shifts in investment, production and consumption patterns.
“For this reason, all countries need to look at ways of mobilising finance for climate smart development.”
Mr Jacobs said the private sector also had a key role to play in natural disaster risk management.
He said all-of-society risk management approaches were now an integral part of all humanitarian aid and development assistance programming within all sectors and contexts.
