The APEC Climate Center (APCC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) held a signing ceremony on 30 September 2021 in the presence of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) secretariat for the signing of the Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA) for the programme titled "Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for resilience in 5 island countries of the Pacific Ocean" funded by the GCF.

At the GCF 27th Meeting of the Board on 10 November 2020, 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.

Under the APCC-UNEP PCA, APCC will participate in the US$49.9 million programme, “Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for resilience in 5 island countries of the Pacific Ocean”, as a technical partner. This programme is now in the implementation phase and will be implemented for a total of five years until 10 September 2026.

Dr. Jian Liu, Director of the Science Division at UNEP, stated during his remarks at the Signing Ceremony, “this is also the largest project so far in UNEP…so that’s why we are giving the top priority for the implementation of this project. It’s not only because it’s the largest project in UNEP but because of the urgency of the task that we are facing.”

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.

Mr. Joseph Intsiful, Senior Climate Information and Early Warning Systems Specialist at GCF, stated in his congratulatory remarks during the PCA signing ceremony, “APCC is also recognized as an expert organization in Climate Information and Early Warning Systems, and has been a very great partner collaborating in the Pacific, supporting the countries in preparing for risks, especially under climate change. So as an approved member of the GCF Community of Practice, APCC will prove to be very reliable and better delivery partner for this program.”