Fiji and the Pacific must accelerate its transition to renewable energy if it is to reduce the burden of rising living costs and secure its future against climate change, says United Nations Resident Coordinator to Fiji Dirk Wagener.
Speaking during the launch of the Clean-Up Campaign at Suva Point on Saturday to mark World Environment Day and World Oceans Day, Mr Wagener said the region remained too heavily reliant on fossil fuels despite its ambition to become fully renewable.
“I think we have to do so much more to really become 100 per cent fossil fuel free and that’s what the Pacific wants to become,” Mr Wagener said.
He said the continued dependence on imported fuel was not only harming the environment but also driving up the cost of living across the region.
“We are still too much dependent for energy use on fossil fuels and currently that hits our own pockets,” he said. “The fuel prices have gone up, prices in the supermarkets are going up because we are still generating too much of our energy using fossil fuels.”
He said the recent global fuel crisis had reinforced the urgency of investing in renewable energy solutions.
“And due to the global fuel crisis we have again been reminded that we need to make the shift towards renewables.”
Mr Wagener said the United Nations would continue working with governments and partners to support the transition.
“We will not just protect our wallets, we will also protect nature as well, protect the environment, and it will ensure that we here in the Pacific can survive in the future.”
