𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐓𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐮 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦

Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport, Hon. Ro Filipe Tuisawau, today launched a landmark regional initiative to decarbonise maritime transport in Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu, marking a significant step towards a greener and more resilient Pacific.

Government officials and stakeholders from Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, and the Republic of Korea gathered at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva for the official launch of the USD 9 million, five-year program: “𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘓𝘰𝘸-𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘙𝘝 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘫𝘪, 𝘛𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘶.” The initiative is funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and delivered in close collaboration with the three Pacific governments.

The program will:

Develop national low-carbon maritime transport roadmaps;

Establish robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems;

Pilot Alternate Marine Power (AMP) systems in key ports; and

Strengthen institutional capacity to attract and manage green investment.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Tuisawau emphasised the program’s importance to Fiji’s climate and economic future:

“𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑓 𝐾𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑎, 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐼, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑟, 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐹𝑖𝑗𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠.”

He highlighted Fiji’s commitment under its Nationally Determined Contribution to reduce emissions across all sectors, including domestic shipping, and its alignment with the International Maritime Organization’s revised GHG strategy targeting net-zero emissions by 2050.

Tonga’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure, Hon. Dr. Taniela Fusimalohi, reinforced the significance of maritime transport in Tonga’s national connectivity and climate strategy, while Mr. Robson Tari, Acting Director of Ports and Marine Department of Vanuatu, spoke of the opportunity to modernise fleets and improve infrastructure for sustainable growth.

Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Fiji, Mr. Myong Jun Kim, reaffirmed Korea’s commitment to sharing expertise and technology to support the Pacific’s green transition. GGGI Pacific Regional Director, Mr. Sakiusa Tuisolia, described the program as a “landmark example of cooperation to address climate change while driving inclusive green growth.”

Over the next five years, the program will bridge knowledge and capacity gaps, support the development of national strategies, and implement scalable solutions such as AMP systems. The ultimate goal is to deliver cleaner ships, greener ports, and resilient maritime transport systems for Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu, creating a model for the wider Pacific.

END