6 May 2026, Honiara - Documented economic losses from climate-related events since 1986 has cost the Solomon Islands a staggering USD 300 million. This amount only scratches the surface of the cost of loss and damage, including non-documented harms and non-economic losses and damages, which cannot be measured in monetary terms.
The figure is revealed in a draft Climate Loss and Damage Evidence Base report, which is the subject of a Climate Loss and Damage Evidence Base, National Validation Workshop, taking place in Honiara from 4-6 May 2026.
“This figure is not a projection, this is what we have already lost in the past 40 years,” said Ms Agnetha Vave-Karamui, Deputy Secretary Technical, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM).
“Even more concerning is that Solomon Islands is losing an estimated USD 79 million every year to climate-related loss and damage. That is equivalent to 8.69 % of our GDP each year. This portrays both an environmental concern, and a national development challenge, as well as a growing economic burden that our country continues to carry.”
Ms Agnetha Vave-Karamui was speaking during the three-day workshop, hosted by MECDM with the support of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and ViPACT Consultancy.
The workshop attended by key stakeholders in the Solomon Islands is critical to Solomon Islands’ response to climate-induced loss and damage. In 2014, the Honiara floods caused USD 107.8 million in damages, which is equivalent to 9.2 percent of GDP. Twenty-two lives were lost, and more than 50,000 people were affected.
“Beyond the economic losses, there are losses that cannot be measured in dollars,” Ms Agnetha Vave-Karamui pointed out. “For instance, this report shows that at least five islands in Temotu Province have already been permanently lost to sea-level rise. For these communities, their histories, heritage and their sense of place cannot be replaced.”
Solomon Islands is in the process of completing its national evidence base documenting climate-induced Loss & Damage across nine sectors. The workshop this week allows the community and national participants to understand the report, methodology, typology, and key findings. It is also to validate the evidence and solve the gaps — through structured group work and discussions.
“We all know Solomon Islands is already living with the impacts of climate change. We see it in stronger cyclones, rising seas, flooding, drought, coral bleaching, and in the gradual loss of the natural systems our communities depend on. But for the first time, we now have stronger evidence to show the scale of what this is costing us,” said Ms Agnetha Vave-Karamui.
“Your presence matters because this is not the responsibility of one ministry or sector alone, but Loss and Damage cuts across many sectors, and responding to it, must be a shared whole-of-government (national and provincial) and multi-stakeholder effort.
Climate change is no longer a future risk we are preparing for. It is a present reality we are already paying for, in our economy, in our communities, and in the daily lives of our people.”
The Evidence base workshop started on Red Beach on Monday, where communities shared about how climate change has already cost them in their daily lives, livelihoods and wellbeing. Those stories and conversations form the basis of the agenda in the next two days, as key officials deliberate on the next steps.
“The Loss and Damage Capacity and Capability Project has now delivered over fifteen dialogues on loss and damage on a regional, national, state and community level across six Pacific Island Countries and Territories including the Solomon Islands National Dialogue held in Honiara last October,” said SPREP Climate Change Loss and Damage Officer, Ms Jessica Rodham.
“This evidence base workshop follows on from this National dialogue and is a demonstration of the momentum that Loss and Damage is building in Solomon Islands and throughout the region.
“I would like to sincerely thank the Government of New Zealand for financial support that has allowed SPREP and our partners to facilitate this important process and and our continued partnership with Solomon Islands. I also want to thank the ViPACT Consultancy team for the work that has gone into developing the Solomon Islands Climate Loss and Damage Evidence Base.”
The Solomon Islands Climate Loss & Damage Evidence Base, National Validation Workshop from 4-6 May in Honiara is made possible with funding support from the Loss and Damage Capability and Capacity (LDCC) Project with the Government of New Zealand.
For more information, please contact SPREP Climate Change Adaptation Adviser, Ms Filomena Nelson filomenan@sprep.org and SPREP Climate Change Loss and Damage Officer, Ms Jessica Rodham jessicar@sprep.org