The Assistant Minister at the Office of the Prime Minister, Hon. Sakiusa Tubuna has affirmed the Coalition governments dedication to tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions in the forest and land-use sectors.
The commitment was reiterated at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Carbon Credits between the First Nation (Fiji) Resources Foundation and the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation (AbCF) from Australia.
Whilst delivering his official remarks, Hon. Tubuna highlighted Fiji’s leading role in the Pacific region’s climate change arena, both in the Carbon compliance market and the Carbon Voluntary market. He emphasized that Fiji’s forests, which encompasses 60% of the landmass, are communally owned by Indigenous Fijians and hold vast potential for poverty alleviation through monetization in the Carbon Voluntary Market – a rapidly growing billion-dollar industry.
“The active participation of the private sector and civil society in engaging forest owners in the Carbon Voluntary Market is a proactive stance that aligns with the Fiji Government’s Sustainable Development Goals on Poverty Alleviation,” Hon. Tubuna stated.
He emphasized that the newly launched agreement would support the government’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions from the forestry sector through the voluntary carbon market, utilizing internally approved voluntary standards.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Akanisi Kedrayate, Chair of the First Nation (Fiji) Resources Foundation, and Mr. Rowan Foley, CEO of the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation (AbCF) from Australia in GPH today.
By leveraging the potential of Fii’s forests, the partnership aims to advance the country’s ambitions of reducing carbon emissions while promoting economic opportunities for indigenous communities.
Dr. Kedrayate stated,” We are pleased to work with AbCF on this MoU to accelerate climate action. This agreement is an important milestone for both our countries in working together to meet our respective climate targets. We hope that it will spur climate investments, enable innovation but most importantly for the First Nation (Resources) Foundation ensure that all our AbCF dealings are beneficial, equitable and just to our natural resource owners”.
Hon. Tubuna further added the Coalition government remains determined in its pursuit of a sustainable future and stands committed to addressing climate change and promoting environmental stewardship.
