Pacific’s new climate fund gets $15 million boost but remains far below target

By Peter Hobson NADI, Fiji, Oct 7 (Reuters) Nations including Fiji and Ireland said on Wednesday they were donating about $15 million to a fund to finance climate resilience and adaptation projects in Pacific islands, but pledges ​remain far below the fund s target. Pacific islands face acute risks from ‌rising seas and volatile weather but say they struggle to access money from global funds. They are pushing for more donations at the pre-COP climate conference in Fiji. This is the moment to invest, Mark Brown, prime minister of the Cook Islands, told delegates at the meeting. Your investment ‌buys ​us time. The Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) is owned by island ⁠governments and aims to have $500 ⁠million after COP31, the UN s flagship forum for coordinating climate action, has wrapped up in November. It ultimately wants $1.5 billion. Pledges by Fiji, Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark on Wednesday took its pot to slightly under $200 million, said PRF ​CEO Finau Soqo. Roughly