The Cabinet of the Kingdom of Tonga has adopted the Regulations and Operational Manual for the Tonga Climate Change Fund (TCCF), marking an important milestone for climate action.
The TCCF is the first national climate change fund in the Pacific region, and once operational, will be a key source of implementing national priorities, including those set out in Tonga’s current national adaptation plan, the Joint National Action Plan 2 on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (JNAP 2) 2018–2028.
Through establishing the TCCF, the Tongan government is strengthening national capacity to access global funds for climate change and disaster risk reduction to meet the needs of its most vulnerable communities, groups and sectors. The TCCF will help finance national climate priorities.
The TCCF regulations and operational manual were developed through a collaborative process led by Tonga’s ministry responsible for climate change (MEIDECC) with technical support from the Tongan legal firm Solutions Consulting House Ltd, with assistance from the NAP Global Network via funding from the governments of the United States and Canada.
Background on the TCCF
The Tongan government began the process to establish a stand-alone fund via legislation in 2012 to proactively fund climate change activities. A National Climate Change Fund Bill was developed in starting in 2011, and the Tonga Climate Change Fund Act was officially enacted in 2021.
The Act aims to establish and operationalize the TCCF in order to
- collect resources and direct them toward approved climate change activities, programs and projects that promote national climate change and disaster risk reduction priorities;
- manage funds from public, private, multilateral and bilateral sources to maximize the Kingdom of Tonga’s ability to advance national climate change priorities;
- assist the Kingdom to achieve the goals of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UN Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and other climate-related conventions.
The Government of New Zealand has contributed approximately NZD 26 million to the TCCF, and the Asian Development Bank and Irish government have committed additional funding. The Tongan government will continue to seek support from additional bilateral and multilateral funds.
Government ministries or agencies, registered companies, registered NGO groups, and community groups will be eligible to access TCCF funds.
TCCF Regulations and Operational Manual 2024
The TCCF Regulations and Operational Manual were recommended for adoption by the TCCF Act. The two documents are complementary:
- The TCCF Regulations contain detailed information on the Fund Project Cycle and Programme Budget, the processes for accreditation and project funding, eligible expenditures, project implementation agreements, and processes for monitoring, evaluation, and verification, as well as project completion
- The TCCF Operational Manual details internal processes of the Fund, the working relationships and institutional arrangements under the TCCF Act, and key roles for actors under the TCCF Act.
The Operational Manual has been translated into Tongan through a collaborative series of workshops by MEIDECC to make this resource more accessible to all Tongans.
Read more about Tonga’s work on the national adaptation plan process.