Climate Change Impact and Structural Reforms in Kiribati

KIRIBATI should undertake both adaptation and mitigation efforts by drawing to the maximum extent on available climate finance resources. The next sections will detail some of the adaptation and mitigation efforts, highlighting the key projects and challenges faced by the authorities. The conceptual scheme of this paper is presented in Figure 1. Figure 1. Kiribati: Conceptual Description of Climate Note and Policy Advice Adaptation •Climate-resilient infrastructure •Strategy for long term investment on adaptation and risk mitigation •Promoting renewable energy alternatives •Develop non-price-based mitigation instruments Mitigation Incentivize transition with carbon tax (future) Climate Finance •Short- to medium-term: unlock financing through international and regional partners •Long-term: develop capacity to directly access Climate Funds B. Adaptation 9. Kiribati has been working actively on climate adaptation, which is crucial given its vulnerability to climate change. Initial attempts were made in the early 1990s, when the government requested scientific advice on SLR. The first climate project—the US Country Study Programme developing a country profile for Kiribati-was conducted in 1995 (Republic of Kiribati, 2015). Since then, the government has issued several adaptation policies, plans and agreements such as the 2012 National Disaster Risk Management Plan, the 2013 National Communication under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) 2016 and the revised NDCs 2022, the 2018 Kiribati Climate Change Policy, the Desaster Risk Management and Climate Change Act 2019, and the 2021 New Enviroment Act. 10. These key policies have been translated into action aimed at improving infrastructure. The 2019 report from the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA, 2019) highlights five key adaptation focus areas that give outstanding cost-benefit ratios once all relevant impacts are considered, including early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, protecting dryland agriculture crop production, mangrove planting, and making water resources management more resilient. In Kiribati, projects to monitor and improve water pipe leakage and water distribution services have been being carried out in Tarawa, including a water desalination plant being built to secure sustainable fresh water supply. Mangrove planting and coastal protection infrastructure such as seawalls help protect coastlines from seawater intrusion and inundation as well as help reduce 6 INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

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