Encouraging a greater commitment towards renewable energy was a key message delivered today by the Minister for Works, Transport and Public Utilities.
Minister Timoci Lesi Natuva opened the “IRENA Consultation Workshops on Renewable Energy Readiness Assessment for Fiji”.
Organised by the Department of Energy and other key stakeholders, the meeting is an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss options and opportunities for greater integration of renewable energy into Fiji’s energy supplies.
Minister Natuva highlighted that Fiji’s National Energy Policy is the platform for modernising and developing the nation’s energy sector in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All).
“The National Energy Policy sets out the government’s directions and smart choices about our nation's future energy needs.
He urged the participants and stakeholders of the workshop to cooperate in discussing options and opportunities for the greater integration of renewable energy into our energy supplies.
“Fiji is currently in a transition to a sustainable energy future and as a small developing nation with heavy reliance on fossil based energy, we are confronted with many pressing issues, including challenges of adequate energy supplies, building a strong economy, and dealing with risk issues ranging from national energy security to global climate change”, the Minister told participants.
“Concerns about the ever escalating national fuel import bills and the financial pressures on our national economy together with the environmental externalities as a result of fossil fuel consumption, makes the energy debate as complex as ever.”
The Minister also acknowledged the support towards the RRA from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the presence of IRENA delegation led by the Director Country Support and Partnership- Ms Gauri Singh.
Ms Gauri Singh said that the RRA is a whole host of activities that are built around putting the renewable energy knowledge and activities in the context of what the islands may need.
“It’s not just an assessment process but an entry point for IRENA to engage with the national government at a much more holistic level with the country structuring its priorities on what they want IRENA to do in the medium terms.
”In Fiji, what is very different is that you have very active multilateral and bilateral donors. They all look at Fiji as one of the countries in the region that is very actively engaged in moving their energy efforts forward and also looking at building up the whole economy and infrastructure along with it,” Ms Singh said.
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