Alison Newell

Connecting the dots: policy connections between Pacific Island shipping and global CO2 and pollutant emission reduction

The relationships between the global discourse on emissions reduction, particularly in regard to international shipping, and the need for more sustainable Pacific Island sea transport services are discussed. Renewable energy applications for such shipping are not currently considered in the drive to reduce fossil fuel dependency in the region. The domestic Pacific Island shipping scenario and international shipping and emissions reduction efforts are summarized. Data availability is limited; however, the authors extrapolate from Fiji data to give a ‘best guess’ of the likely range of emissions produced by the Pacific Island shipping and argue that reduction targets are achievable based on results of experiments in the last oil crisis. Five policy areas are identified that connect the local need with the global discourse and give rise to the promotion of sustainable, low-carbon maritime transport for this unique region.

Policy and financing—why is sea transport currently invisible in the search for a low carbon future for Pacific Island Countries?

The role of financing and policy in research, development, trialling and introduction of renewable energy technologies in the Pacific maritime sector is considered. Key research and trials of renewable energy technologies for sea transport in the Pacific from the 1980s and the critical role played by agencies such as the United Nations in leveraging support from funders such as the Asian Development Bank and European Union are reviewed. The lack of current policy on potential renewable energy technology use in sea transport at national, regional and development agency levels is discussed with the Asian Development Bank used as a case study. The urgent need for such technology to be commercially trialled as a means of reducing the region’s dependency on fossil fuels given the importance of sea transport to socio-economic development in the Pacific is outlined in light of the proportion of fossil fuel currently used by the maritime sector. The paper concludes that review of current funding strategies and policies to include both sea transport and the potential for use of renewable energy technologies in the maritime sector in the Pacific is a priority and current reliance on the private sector acting alone needs review.

The Solodamu Surveys: determining fossil fuel use and sea transport need in a coastal village in Fiji

Domestic sea transport is critical to all aspects of life in the Pacific, providing access to markets and health and education services, as well as enabling cultural and social connectivity. Current sea transport services are entirely dependent upon use of increasingly expensive fossil fuels. Whilst there has been increasing research on international shipping, very little focus has been given to date to domestic shipping in the Pacific, and in particular at the local, village level. Recent studies have highlighted lack of data, particularly at a village level, as being a major impediment to progressing a shift to more sustainable transport. The importance of transport in achieving sustainable development and “green growth” is being increasingly highlighted by Pacific Leaders as a key priority, and particularly the need to find alternatives to reduce the region’s crippling dependency on imported fossil fuels. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in other regions also face similar challenges. This paper provides a summary of the findings of a village-based assessment of transport and fossil fuel use in Solodamu Village, Kadavu, Fiji carried out in 2009 and 2011. The objectives of the surveys were to gauge the overall sea, land and air transport use by the village and the fossil fuel footprint of the village by collecting data on a household by household basis. We then go on to outline how this assessment methodology has been expanded for an island group and highlight the potential of using this in other SIDS, so building the data sets available for more accurate analysis of both transport need and fossil fuel use to better address the issues of fossil fuel dependency and sustainable transport for the Pacific.