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Fiji

Viti

Core analysis conducted in August 2021.

Overall NDC Equity Score

Extremely Inadequate

+

Emissions Reductions

Aspiring

The NDC’s emissions reduction goals lack ambition. Due to its relative responsibility, the country’s climate action efforts are aspiring.

+

Gender Justice

Insufficient

The NDC made an effort to acknowledge the disproportionate impacts of climate on women and gender, but it insufficiently addresses long-term solutions or inclusion.

+

Youth Inclusion

Critically Deficient

The NDC has significant gaps in addressing youth inclusion, not addressing young people at all.

Summary

Fiji is a tropical country in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 332 volcanic islands scattered across 1.3 million square kilometers of ocean, contributes 0.006% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Despite their negligible contribution, Pacific Island countries, like Fiji, are on the frontlines of climate change due to their limited size and remote location. Further, their high vulnerability to rising sea-levels and hurricanes makes climate change an increasing threat to their futures, cultures, and natural landscapes. As a result, Fiji’s NDC focuses largely on adaptation, including actions to strengthen healthcare and infrastructure investment, relocation of vulnerable communities, and the improvement of early warning weather monitoring systems.

 

On gender justice, the NDC fails to consider the vulnerability and role of women. While surface-level consideration is given to gender through mentioning equality, it fails to reach a level where there is equal involvement and participation (or “talanoa”) in planning sessions, and no effort is made to reach out to women particularly to take their experience and input into consideration.

 

The NDC also fails to equitably include young people. One quarter of Fijians are under 15, and another quarter are between 15-29, meaning that over half of the population are classified by the UN as “youth”! As the incoming workforce and stewards of future generations, it is critical youth voices are centered in future climate-related development and implementation plans.

 

On indigenous peoples, unfortunately, both Fiji’s 2016 and 2021 NDCs contain no reference to indigenous peoples. Indigenous Fijians (or iTaukei) comprise roughly half of Fiji’s population, most of whom are farmers, and own 86% of land. This significant oversight and lack of translated materials represents a missed opportunity to strengthen Fiji’s efforts to tackle climate change.

Highlights

  • Includes significant adaptation targets.
  • Despite minimal contribution to climate change, has a 30% emissions reduction target.
  • Developed NDC with stakeholder input from NGOs, industry experts, academic exerts, and technical consultants.

Lowlights

  • Mentions gender considerations as part of planning process, but does not discuss specific methods for inclusion, or plans to ensure a balanced outcome.
  • No specific mentions of youth or indigenous peoples engagement, inclusion, or vulnerability to climate change.

Key Recommendations

This analysis found that there is only surface level emphasis on gender justice coupled with no emphasis on the importance of youth. Despite having existing mechanisms and experience leader global Talanoa dialogues, it does not appear these best practices were incorporated into the NDC development process.

The presence of a Gender Equality Policy at the national level provides a thread of hope in increasingly gender just climate policies. The following are key recommendations for the improvement of future NDCs:

For Gender Justice

  • Make an explicit effort to include women and LGBTQ+ people high-level climate policy discussions.
  • Provide specific analysis of gender impacts in mitigation and adaptation efforts to ensure a balanced outcome.

For Youth Inclusion

  • Directly solicit ideas from young people.
  • Organize avenues to learn from and collaborate with youth-leaders and/or establish a Youth Council to provide concrete additions to future NDCs.
  • Create a process for young people and NGOs to provide feedback on NDC implementation and progress.

NDC Ambassador - Author

Timaima Samulo Mocenanuma

NDC Ambassador Timaima Samulo Mocenanuma is a student at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Network System and Security. She works voluntarily as an Island Innovation Ambassador and serves as a member of the Nadroga/Navosa Yaubula Management team in her province (“yaubula” means resources in her native language). She grew up in her mum’s village (Nadrau Village) in the interior of Viti Levu with her five siblings under her mum’s care. Protecting and taking care of the natural resources around her is not a new idea for her but a norm. She can remember watching her community and family members plant root crops and vegetables to live on and some to sell at the market for their school fees. Her mum is her biggest inspiration, an encouraging lady who always challenges her and her siblings to work hard and finish University. She loves netsurfing, traveling, cooking, and gardening.

NDC Ambassador - Author

Laxmita Kumar

‘Teaching is the highest form of understanding.’ –Aristotle. Laxmita N. Kumar is a graduate from University of the South Pacific Fiji, attaining Master of Education, Postgraduate Certificate in Gender Studies, Postgraduate Diploma in Education and Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Certificate in Education. She is an experienced, wholehearted and focused teacher who is committed to safeguarding and promoting the education and well-being of children and young people of Fiji. She is passionate about Education, Gender, Climate Change, Culture and inclusiveness and tries to deliver the best possible education to students for their growth and development in life. She is able to establish a supportive relationship with not only students but also fellow colleagues all with the aim of reinforcing a student’s independence, self-esteem and promoting a distinction for gender equality and education enabling students and people in the community to see themselves as climate leaders in the Pacific. She is someone who is fundamentally committed to good practice and innovation and always engaged in continuous learning through confident, being passionate and enthusiastic about working in any given environment.

NDC Mentor

Krishneil Narayan

NDC Mentor Krishneil Narayan is a sustainable development consultant with economic, environmental, and social change experience of 14 years. He is the Director and Principal Consultant at Sustainable Future Consultancy specializing in sustainable development, climate change, security, youth development, education, disaster risk management, gender, social, economic, and environmental project/programme management. Krishneil is an experienced climate change policy negotiator at the United Nations where he has championed the priorities of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for over a decade while contributing to the adoption of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage in 2013, the Paris Agreement in 2015, supporting Fiji’s COP23 Presidency and advising the UK Government’s COP26 Presidency on adaptation workstream.

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