Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says Fiji is launching a Blue Bond in 2022 that seeks to resource a steady course towards a sustainable blue economy and a decarbonised shipping sector.
Mr Bainimarama noted this in his keynote address at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) event at COP26 in Glasgow yesterday, saying Fiji was bringing all 1.3million square kilometres of its ocean under sustainable management by 2030.
He said the South Pacific island nation had banned deep seabed mining in this decade, and were instead exploring ocean-based energy, such as tidal and wave power.
“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 (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement,” the Fijian PM said.
“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.”
Mr Bainimarama said that while Fiji’s carbon footprint was negligible, it did not stop it from fighting against climate change at any cost; and that the country “has never settled for the excuse of being too small to make a difference”.
