From Seville to Samoa: Translating Global Commitments into Pacific Action

November 26, 2025

In July 2025 at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain, global leaders reaffirmed their collective commitment to bridging the widening financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Seville Commitment, adopted at the Conference, emphasized that mobilizing sustainable finance must go hand in hand with good governance, inclusive growth, and innovative partnerships that ensure no country is left behind, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Around the same time, closer to home, a dialogue on sustainable finance was taking place in Apia. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Government of Samoa, convened a policy dialogue on “Unlocking Sustainable Finance for the Green and Blue Economy”. The dialogue brought together governments, the private sector, financial institutions, civil society organizations, and development partners from the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau, among others, to explore partnership pathways that can accelerate the four countries’ access to finance towards green and blue economic transformation.

Sustainable Finance: From Global Frameworks to Local Realities

Pacific SIDS face a paradox: While many are classified as middle-income countries, their economic and climate vulnerabilities remain acute. The dialogue underscored that unlocking sustainable finance requires strong institutions, enabling regional and national policy environments, and public–private engagement that advances green and blue sectors, anchored in resilience, inclusivity, and sustainability.

Panel of speakers seated on a stage with microphones, red curtains, and flowers. — The panellists of the session on “Financing strategies for green and blue economies and regulatory and capacity gaps” speaking about national efforts to accelerate sustainable financing. From left to right: Alfred Kaukinayau (Director of Energy, Government of Tokelau); Crispina Konelio (Acting Director, Environment Department, Government of Niue; Anne Herman (Secretary, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Government of the Cook Islands); and Afioga Saoleititi Maeva Betham Vaai (CEO, Ministry of Finance, Government of Samoa).

Photo: UNDP

Echoing the spirit of the Seville Commitment, the dialogue’s participants emphasized that efforts to accelerate finance for development must be locally grounded and regionally and globally connected.

Spanning six thematic sessions, the dialogue opened with Pacific SIDS’ call for greater access to climate finance, followed by discussions on ongoing national efforts to finance the SDGs. Renewable energy and tourism were highlighted as key sectors driving green and blue transformation. Following in-depth discussions on public–private collaboration and blended finance, participants identified concrete action items to advance the agenda.

Crowded conference room with attendees seated; a speaker holds a microphone. — Lealaisalanoa Frances Brown-Reupena, CEO of Samoa's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), offered valuable insights during the dialogue’s Q&A session.

Photo: UNDP

Turning Dialogue into Action: Collective Takeaways to Advance Sustainable Finance

The dialogue generated several key recommendations and reaffirmed UNDP’s, and development partners’, commitment to supporting the governments in translating these priorities into action. The overarching recommendations for governments were to:

Provide a platform for public–private dialogues to strengthen partnerships, set clear priorities, and accelerate sustainable finance.
Maintain government leadership with clear policy signals and enabling regulatory frameworks to guide investment into priority sectors.
Offer targeted capacity-building support for SMEs, including business development services and financial literacy, to expand their ability to access sustainable finance.
Enhance transparent governance of financial instruments, particularly de-risking tools such as credit guarantee schemes, to ensure credibility and investor confidence.
Advocate for a flexible, staged approach to concessionality, moving gradually from grants to concessional loans to preserve fiscal space and avoid penalizing SIDS.

In addition, sector-specific recommendations included the call to:

Strengthen research and development on renewable energy technologies through a regional platform to keep countries abreast of evolving technologies and circular economy approaches.
Develop robust baseline data on green and blue investments to track flows and impacts, enhance investor confidence, and attract further financing.

These priorities echo the Seville Conference’s call for innovation and accountability in financing, and align with the ambitions expressed at COP30, where Pacific voices continued to advocate for equitable access to climate finance that reflects their unique vulnerabilities and resilience goals.

Towards a Pacific Model of Sustainable Finance

The dialogue reaffirmed that governance, resilience, and investment are interlinked pillars of sustainable finance in the Pacific. Strengthening domestic institutions, embedding sustainability in budgeting and planning, and engaging communities in financial decisions are key to ensuring that finance contributes to both environmental and social resilience.

UNDP and its partners will continue to support Pacific SIDS to translate these insights into action—through the development of innovative financing instruments, the integration of sustainability into public finance systems, and the strengthening of regional cooperation to attract climate-smart investment..