The full story
Sea level at Apia rose 31 cm over 1993 to 2024, and about 80% of Samoa's 403 km of coast is sensitive or highly sensitive to erosion, flooding or landslip. 113 Cyclone Gita in February 2018 caused an estimated SAT$12.4m of loss and the December 2020 flood SAT$80.4m. 3 The 2023 to 2024 El Niño brought drought, water shortages and agricultural losses, and in August 2026 the Meteorology Division gave a 60 to 70% probability of below-normal rain through January 2027. 4
Coastal protection has a mixed record. The Adaptation Fund project that closed in June 2018 built about 3 km of shoreline protection and relocation plans for 15 villages, leaving relocation itself to a national roadmap, and a later evaluation found sections of the Manase rockwall deteriorating. 513 The Green Climate Fund's Vaisigano flood project, approved 15 December 2016 with US$31.6m, is 90% disbursed, but in 2024 the board cancelled flood walls on two river segments, the Lelata bridge upgrade and US$15.3m allocated to them. 146 The Alaoa dam, approved by ADB in 2024 with a US$99.7m grant, was still pre-construction in 2026, with construction bids expected in the second quarter of 2027. 7
Renewable electricity was 31.5% of generation in 2016 and 42.4% in 2020, and EPC reported 45% in the year to June 2021. 115 It then fell to 34.3% in 2023 and 29.3% in 2024, with diesel at 70.7%. 2 The Laʻauli government's third nationally determined contribution targets 75% renewable electricity by 2035, and the FY2026/27 budget plans three solar farms, but no post-2025 generation share had been published by October 2026. 168 ADB links the November 2021 electricity tariff cut, high fuel prices in 2022 to 2024 and tariff adjustments kept on hold to EPC's financial and maintenance pressure. 17
Waste: the 2020 audit found 27,057 tonnes generated a year with under 3% recycled or reused, and plastic shopping bags and straws have been banned since June 2019. 3 The October 2025 budget set a waste levy from 1 January 2026, but JICA's account of its March to July 2026 household pilot says wider separated collection waits for Waste Levy Regulations, so whether charging began is unconfirmed. 910 The prime minister said in February 2026 that Tafaigata landfill is approaching capacity, against an MNRE official's estimate of at least ten more years. 18 A new weighbridge opened at the landfill on 22 July 2026. 19
Conservation and fisheries: the Marine Spatial Plan launched on 24 October 2024 fully protects 30% of Samoa's waters, 36,000 km²; the Fiamē government announced its legal adoption in June 2025 and a 15 April 2026 executive order brought it into legal effect, with first enforcement scheduled for 16 April 2027. 202122 About 86% of households rely on marine resources for food. 3 Samoa's longline catch fell from 585.4 tonnes in 2024 to 280.9 tonnes in 2025, and observer coverage rose from 4% to 7.27%. 2324 A Lands, Surveys and Environment Amendment Bill 2026 is on Parliament's register but no enacted Act was found. 25
Climate finance received cannot be totalled from published figures: GCF lists US$81.5m of financing for Samoa projects, the Lowy Institute counts US$272m spent on projects with a principal climate purpose over 2008 to 2024, and a 2023 UNDP account gives US$57m of GCF funding for Vaisigano against the US$31.6m GCF itself lists; the figures use different definitions and disagree. 26271214 The World Bank approved a US$35m disaster-readiness package in March 2026; approval is not spending. 28