Nauru Citizenship Program CEO Backs Waqa Comments to Rethink Climate Financing

For immediate release

The chief executive of the Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program has echoed calls by Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa for private finance to play a greater role in supporting Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Edward Clark said SG Waqa’s comments, made at the 2025 OECD Conference on Private Finance for Sustainable Development last week where he pointed out that “Capital flows have reached unprecedented levels, yet far too little is reaching SIDS”, should be a wake-up call for vulnerable nations.

In his address Mr Waqa said climate-conscious investors should be “willing to look beyond traditional financial metrics.”

Mr Clark said Pacific Islands and other vulnerable island nations should no longer view themselves as passive recipients of climate funding, but think differently in their approach to climate resilience.

“Climate vulnerable countries must be viewed as the new incubators for climate innovation.

“We have both a need and a right to be prosperous in the face of a global climate emergency, and there is an urgent need to ensure we disproportionately benefit from climate innovation.

He labelled Nauru’s new citizenship program and Niue’s Ocean Wide Trust as examples of “innovative, cost-effective solutions to address these challenges.

“Our citizenship program is a way of opening Nauru to the world and enabling citizenship in a nation actively working towards climate resilience.

“It’s for those who want to support Nauru's sustainable development initiatives.”

Pointing to Nauru’s ambitious ‘Higher Ground Initiative’ that will see the relocation of 90 per cent of the country’s population to the ‘topside’ of the island, pioneering an entirely new community, Mr Clark said the nation was “the world’s smallest republic with the world’s biggest climate resilience vision.”

“This is a monumental task and one well beyond the normal financial capability of Nauru.”

Mr Clark, who has a background in compliance and financial crime investigation, said Nauru’s program adheres to Financial Action Task Force standards and undergoes the strictest and most thorough due diligence procedures.

“Only individuals of the highest calibre who can participate in shaping Nauru’s future will be accepted.”

This program is about joining a community dedicated to pioneering solutions for global challenges, and is an example of the bold and transformative action vulnerable nations must take to survive.”