Ariff Ali, Governor, Reserve Bank of Fiji

I am the son of a fisherman. Growing up, I experienced how financial vulnerability impacted people’s lives. I saw the challenges my father faced in accessing funds, because he did not have collateral or regular income.

Today, as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, what drives me is the desire for an inclusive and sustainable economy, where ordinary Fijians can build livelihoods, withstand shocks, and benefit from opportunities.

Key to achieving this is Inclusive Green Finance (IGF), which uses financial inclusion to build resilience for communities dealing with climate shocks – here in Fiji, we get hit by cyclones and storms every year.

One key IGF initiative involves parametric insurance, which pays out when an event happens, rather than waiting for proof of actual physical damage, helping the vulnerable at a time when they need help most. If there’s a storm, the parametric triggers will come in and people are compensated, allowing them to continue to put food on the table and pay their bills.

Through partnering with UNCDF and two local insurance companies, we have seen parametric insurance take off, and now want to extend it nationwide. This will involve securing Government support (currently, the initiative is entirely funded by RBF and our partners) and building collaborations with other like-minded partners.

One thing which I’m really proud of is that Fiji was the first ever emerging nation to issue a sovereign green bond. In 2018, we listed a Fijian-dollar green bond on the London Stock Exchange. Just one year later, we were hit tropical cyclone Winston, the strongest cyclone to make landfall in the southern hemisphere, wiping out almost one-third of our GDP. The green bond helped mobilize vital capital for climate resilient infrastructure and adaptation projects, demonstrating that small island states can access innovative finance to address climate change.

Establishing a green taxonomy has also been key. This provides a common framework in identifying and classifying environmentally friendly and sustainable economic activities. Our taxonomy is now complemented by a sustainable finance roadmap.

Encouragingly, progress in Inclusive Green Finance is happening across the Pacific. Much of this is thanks to AFI’s Pacific Islands Regional initiative, which brings seven nations together and allows us to advance together rather than pedaling in different directions.

By adapting international approaches to the Pacific context, we’ve been able to develop the Natadola Roadmap on Inclusive Green Finance, a policy development framework which takes account of the unique climate challenges we face in the region.

Through PIRI and our other collaborations, Fiji has been able to make concrete progress in Inclusive Green Finance over the last decade – introducing policies and initiatives which help women, households, MSMEs and other vulnerable populations to prepare for, withstand, and recover from climatic shocks

These experiences have taught me that financial inclusion and climate resilience are intertwined rather than separate policy agendas – each reinforcing the other. For Fiji, Inclusive Green Finance does not involve choosing between development and sustainability – it is a pathway to both.