New World Bank Grant To Enhance Tuvalu's Climate Financing, Disaster Response, And Resilience

FUNAFUTI, March 1, 2025 – The World Bank has today committed US$7 million in new grants to support Tuvalu’s financial management of and resilience to climate-related disasters. The Tuvalu Second Climate and Disaster Resilience Development Policy Financing is the second in a series of two operations aimed at mitigating climate impacts and strengthening disaster preparedness.

Tuvalu is at the forefront of climate change. The low-lying atoll country is highly vulnerable to rising seas, frequent cyclones, prolonged droughts, and other climate-related events. These events have resulted in social and economic losses estimated at almost 7 percent of the country’s GDP every year, according to the World Bank Group’s 2024 Pacific Atoll Countries Climate and Development Report. These crises severely disrupt budget planning and compromise the country’s ability to deliver essential services.

“Strengthening our ability to better manage, account for, report on and allocate funding for disaster response and climate change adaptation is critical for Tuvalu,” said the Hon. Panapasi Nelesone, Tuvalu’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development. “This grant financing will assist the government of Tuvalu in improving financial management while strengthening climate-resilient infrastructure.”

The new grant will help the government better assess, monitor, report on, and manage climate financing. It will also (a) support policy reforms that will see more funding set aside to respond to disasters more efficiently; (b) ensure that emergency supplies can be brought in more rapidly during disasters; (c) equip institutions to ensure that buildings and other structures are built to withstand natural disasters; and (d) improve emergency systems, so that Tuvalu is better able to withstand and recover from climate-related disasters.

“Supporting Tuvalu’s climate resilience and strengthening institutional capacity is critical for Tuvalu’s economic stability and growth,” said Stefano Mocci, World Bank Country Manager for the South Pacific. “The World Bank remains committed to development initiatives such as this grant support, that are aligned with Tuvalu’s National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2021–2030.”

The operation is part of coordinated budget support under the Government’s Policy Reform Matrix. Development partners include the Asian Development Bank, the governments of Australia and New Zealand, and the European Union.

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