Issues/Context
With every 0.1 degree rise in the average global temperature, the threats from climate-induced disasters increase disproportionately affecting fragile ecosystems, impacting socioeconomic systems, and fueling instability and volatility.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. At COP26 SIDS leaders stated that climate action is a matter of survival for these nations, that are facing more frequent and extreme weather events causing devastating damage to the environment, human life, and economies.
Therefore, climate mitigation and adaptation actions are paramount, and access to finance is at the heart of climate action. SIDS are highly vulnerable due to their dependence on imports of goods, services, energy supply, and economies that lack diversification.
The COVID-19 pandemic and impacts from the war in Ukraine have exacerbated these vulnerabilities, decimating tourism, intensifying socio-economic shocks, increasing food insecurity, and raising the costs of fossil fuels, resulting in aftershocks felt across the SIDS that are expected to persist for years.
The need for new growth strategies is critical to address multi-dimensional socio-economic risks, to shift to sustainable development to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, drive economic growth, and help people cope with the impacts of climate change.
UNDP has been supporting countries to promote green growth, build resilience to crises, and respond to the growing adaptation and mitigation needs through several initiatives including its flagship Climate Promise initiative. The initiative, the biggest of its kind, supports developing countries in delivering their national climate pledges, namely Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), that set emission reduction targets.
Overall Objective
The Pacific Green Transformation Project aims to advance climate action through innovation, helping communities build resilience, and adapt to climate risks, by providing access to renewable energy, for the most vulnerable to overcome a persistent energy crisis and drive green transformation across the Pacific and beyond.
Project Framework
The 4-countries project funded by the Government of Japan, is being implemented under the overarching goal of the Climate Promise framework. Lessons learned from the Climate Promise initiative will enrich the implementation process of the Pacific Green Transportation Project. The country-level climate actions and investments have been developed based on country-specific contexts to best realize their green transformation ambitions for a more inclusive, gender-responsive, and climate-resilient future.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea aims to provide electricity to 70 percent of its population by 2030, through renewable energy. This goal is central to achieving the country’s NDCs. Most communities are in rugged, remote, and mountainous terrain, where setting up primary grid connections would be complicated and expensive. Access to more affordable forms of off-grid renewable energy will significantly improve the livelihoods of communities and people, especially women and youth. By pursuing greener income generation options, PNG would leapfrog outdated fossil fuel technologies and accelerate reductions in emissions to meet its NDC target. The Pacific Green Transformation Project will install 3 micro solar farms in off-grid communities in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
Samoa
Currently, Samoa’s transportation sector is heavily dependent on fossil fuels and is the country’s largest emitter of CO2. Samoa needs to quickly pivot to renewable energy to try to reach zero-emission across both land and maritime transport systems, to achieve its Paris Agreement goals. Through the Pacific Green Transformation Project, Samoa envisions a major shift to green and low-carbon transportation by investing in the adoption of electrical vehicles and outboard motors. The project takes a comprehensive gender-sensitive and inclusive approach, based on the principle of leaving no one behind.
Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste commits to scaling up investment in renewable energy systems and use of low-carbon technologies to reduce diesel consumption while simultaneously, improving the resilience of rural communities. By ensuring access to reliable and clean energy, the project will provide solar power to the National Medical Store, a warehouse that holds the country’s medicines and medical supplies for the entire country. The project will also provide offgrid solar-powered lighting and cooking stoves to 1,000 households, which will significantly reduce the consumption of firewood. And it will renovate and set up 15 solar-powered ICT labs in general, secondary, and vocational schools.
Vanuatu
Vanuatu’s 2017 census indicates that 71 percent of the nation’s roughly 280,000 people lack access to electricity. As per the census, over half of those offgrid households have no access to power besides a solar lantern. In its National Energy Road Map (NERM), the country aims to achieve 100 percent electrification with renewable energy by 2030. Through the Pacific Green Transformation Project, pico-hydro power stations will be established in selected locations to provide reliable energy sources in communities and also to contribute to the government’s efforts in achieving its NERM commitment.