Island legislators from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific to address climate change

From: e-Parliament

Meeting in Vanuatu will spell out responsibilities of legislators to help reduce emissions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 3rd 2009

Legislators from island nations in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific are gathering in Vanuatu between November 6 and 8 to hear how they could supply electricity to their nations without harming the planet.

The 15-20 politicians will be addressed by experts in renewable energy - wind, solar, and biomass – and will hear about possible policy options. The idea is that they will then return to their home parliaments to introduce this legislation.

The hearing will be held at the Melanesian Hotel in Port Vila and the legislators will be addressed by the following experts:

• Dr. Rolph Payet, Special Advisor to the President of the Seychelles, summarising the findings of the latest IPCC report on the impacts of climate change on island states as well as adaptation and mitigation strategies.
• Thomas Lynge Jensen, Environment and Energy Policy Specialist, UNDP Pacific Centre, will talk about access to electricity in rural areas, using Fiji’s Rural Electrification Program as an example.
• Rupeni Mario, Senior Advisor, SOPAC, on the benefits of linking different renewable energy sources into mini-grids.
• Molipi Tausi, Energy Planner, Tuvalu Ministry of Works, Water and Energy, on how Tuvalu plans to reach its target of 100% renewable energy by 2020, how the plan was developed and how other islands could do the same.
• Stefan Schurig, Climate and Energy Director, World Future Council, on Feed-in Tariffs and other finance mechanisms which can help to encourage renewable energy uptake.
• Cristelle Pratt, Executive Director, SOPAC, on the importance of building local knowledge and expertise in renewable energy technology and policy, and how legislators can encourage this in island states.

Legislators will be coming to the hearing from the following countries: Bahamas, Barbados, Comoros, Cook Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, Kiribati, Mauritius, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, St Lucia, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tanzania (Zanzibar) and Vanuatu.

While most of the hearing will take place at the Melanesian Hotel, the legislators will also be taken to a windfarm and biofuel plant near Port Vila.

The hearing has been convened by the e-Parliament, an international forum for the world’s democratic legislators, and the World Future Council, an organisation which endeavours to ensure that the interests of future generations are taken into account by the politicians of today.

It is the 18th hearing in the e-Parliament’s history. Previous hearings have resulted in action being taken by legislators to combat climate change in African and Asian countries.

This particular hearing is one of a series of nine funded by the European Commission and the Swiss Development Agency (SIDA) for African, Caribbean and Pacific Island legislators on the subject of ‘Energy Access for the Poor’. Previous hearings in the series have taken place in Kenya, Ghana, Tobago, Guyana and Mozambique.

Next year e-Parliament energy hearings will take place in Cameroon, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania.

NOTES

Available for telephone briefing prior to the hearing:

Jasper Bouverie, Communications Director, the e-Parliament

Susana Guerreiro, Programme Officer, the e-Parliament