The 2026 National Advisory Board (NAB) Members Conference was convened from 4 to 7 May 2026 at the Melanesian Hotel, Port Vila, Vanuatu. The conference brought together NAB Members, Observers, and Working Group focal points from across Government ministries, departments, civil society, and partner agencies to review progress, align priorities, and agree on next steps across Vanuatu's climate change and disaster risk reduction agenda.
The conference was structured around four days of morning plenary sessions open to NAB Members and Observers, and afternoon Working Group and Taskforce sessions. A closed NAB Board Meeting was held on the morning of Day 3.
Seven thematic plenary sessions were held across Days 1 and 2, covering: Energy and Just Transition; Climate Finance and Economic Resilience; Diplomacy, Policy and Legal Accountability; Human Health and WASH Resilience; Infrastructure and Urban Resilience; Ecosystem and Natural Resource Resilience; and Food Security and Agriculture Resilience.
Six Working Group and Taskforce sessions were convened in the afternoons, covering: the Climate Finance Working Group; the UNFCCC Taskforce; the Project Screening Committee; the Policy & Compliance Working Group; the Loss & Damage Working Group; and the IEC Working Group.
Key outcomes of the Conference include:
• Endorsement of the NAB as Vanuatu's Climate Finance Country Platform
• Agreement to expand the Climate Finance Working Group membership to include regional accredited entities and NGEF
• Recognition of the COP30 Belém outcomes and their implications for Vanuatu's NDC 3.0 and BTR process
• Agreement to develop a joint Council of Ministers paper (MoCC and MoET) on PhD-level capacity building scholarships
• Agreement for the NAB Secretariat to develop fact sheets on all key climate policy instruments for Government sectors
• Agreement to improve project screening processes including integration of VMGD into the Screening Committee
• Endorsement of the need for a dedicated SLR Health Action Plan and integrated WASH-Climate Security approach
• Commitment to align sector policies with NDC 3.0, the CCDRR Policy, and the ICJ Advisory Opinion obligations