By NAVNEET NARAYAN
Participants at a workshop in Nadi have been told that the push to reduce carbon emissions has an increased relevance and urgency for the Pacific region.
They have also been told that the Pacific region is on the frontline of climate change and is not far removed from its impacts like most people in the developed world.
The comment has come from Attorney-General and Civil Aviation Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum while opening the joint Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore workshop on reducing aviation-related carbon dioxide emissions.
“The effects of rising waters and more frequent natural disasters are seen and felt in our daily lives. Therefore, green growth, sustainable development and climate change are topics of urgent discussion in Fiji and in the region,” he said
“Working to reduce CO2emissions in our aviation industry is one such area. Improving the environmental performance of aviation is a challenge we take very seriously.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the strategies for carbon-reduction in the aviation industry included investment in new technology, more efficient operations – especially in terms of air traffic management – better infrastructure, and positive market-based measures, or in other words, economic incentives to reduce pollution.
Full details in Thursday’s Fiji Sun newspaper.
Attorney-General and Civil Aviation Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum