The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has commissioned a documentary series focusing on the successes, challenges and lessons learned from renewable energy projects in the Pacific region, with the aim of highlighting efforts by the Pacific region to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 33%.
13 May 2011: The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has commissioned a documentary series to showcase the experiences of 11 Pacific island countries in their efforts to achieve their renewable energy targets or goals.
The documentary series will focus on the successes, challenges and lessons learned from renewable energy projects and will feature the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. All of these countries are part of the Pacific Islands Greenhouse Gas Abatement through Renewable Energy Programme (PIGGAREP), which is working to remove barriers to using renewable energy.
Some of the countries with higher renewable energy targets in the region include Tuvalu, which has a target of 100% renewable energy use by the year 2020, and Niue, which also has a 100% renewable energy economy target.
The aim of the documentary series is to showcase efforts being undertaken in the Pacific region to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 33%. Espen Ronneberg, SPREP’s Climate Change Adviser, underscored this objective, noting that the series “is a very valuable opportunity for the region to show that even small countries with low greenhouse gas emissions can do something to contribute to reducing emissions, in a way stating that if we can do it, then why can’t larger countries.” The series will highlight economic and social benefits from “reliable renewable energy production for local consumption.”
The documentary series will be available for viewing in August 2011, and will be available from SPREP. [SPREP Press Release]