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FIJI CALLS FOR THE REDUCTION OF SHIPPING EMISSIONS

Date: 
Wednesday, 10 November 2021

FIJI CALLS FOR THE REDUCTION OF SHIPPING EMISSIONS

Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama today reiterated that Fiji’s carbon footprint is negligible but this does not stop Fiji from fighting against climate change at any cost.

In terms of shipping emissions, he said Fiji has never settled for the excuse of being too small to make a difference.

While delivering the keynote address at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) event along the margins of COP26 today, Prime Minister Bainimarama said for years, Fiji has been vocal in the global campaign to reduce shipping emissions.

“We’ve done more than talk, we have led by action through a pledge to reduce our shipping emissions by 30% by 2030 and achieve net-zero as a country by 2050,” he said.

“Shipping accounts for a three-percent-and-rising share of total emissions. Curbing such a massive source of carbon will not be easy but if history is any guide, we know that our ability to innovate means that even the greatest challenges is never impossible to overcome.”

Fiji is launching a Blue Bond next year that seeks to resource a steady course towards a sustainable blue economy and a decarbonised shipping sector.

The Prime Minister further added that Fiji is bringing all 1.3 million square kilometres of its ocean under sustainable management by 2030.

“We have banned deep seabed mining in this decade and we are instead exploring ocean-based energy, such as tidal and wave power,” he said.

“As part of our push to make a home for oceans in the processes of the UNFCCC, we are calling on all countries to engrain blue components in their nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement.

“That collective ambition should include achieving net-zero in shipping globally by 2050. We cannot solve this challenge in silos, we need a global wave of technological adoption that spurs an affordable and rapid shift towards renewably-powered shipping around the world, including in Fiji.”

Prime Minister Bainimarama concluded his keynote address by emphasising that climate crisis is an oceans crisis and by decarbonising the shipping sector, nations will add to the massive mountain of action on mitigation that is needed to tackle the climate challenge.