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Stakeholders consulted for the review of the Vanuatu National Energy Road Map 2016-2030 Implementation Plan

Port Vila, Vanuatu, February 19 2019 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Barrier Removal for Achieving the National Energy Roadmap Targets of Vanuatu (BRANTV) Project in partnership with the Department of Energy (DoE), conducted a consultation workshop on the review of the National Energy Road Map (NERM) 2016-2030 Implementation Plan (NERM-IP) today at the Melanesian Hotel in Port Vila. The focus of the workshop was to identify key interventions necessary in addition to the ongoing and planned activities that are currently under way in the energy space for achieving the objectives of the NERM. Hence, the stakeholders were invited to propose relevant interventions to be discussed during the workshop with the aim of reaching consensus among participating key stakeholders.

This consultation workshop forms part of an ongoing work on review of the NERM-IP which the Department is currently undertaking. The current review of the NERM-IP will also analyze progress against NERM targets and objectives to date and will make projections on further progress to be expected based on initiatives under preparation and in the pipeline. Furthermore, a Provincial Sustainable Energy Action Plan will be developed to ensure strategic alignment of energy programs in the NERM-IP are mainstreamed into Provincial and Municipal level of administration. This activity will also ascertain the institutional capacity especially within the DoE necessary for the implementation of the NERM-IP and develop a Monitoring Reporting and Verification for the energy sector in Vanuatu.

During his opening remarks at the workshop, Mr Antony Garae, Director of Energy emphasized the importance of having a realistic implementation plan for the energy sector and the need for alignment of activities to achieve national energy objectives in the NERM and also acknowledged the presence of workshop participants. Those presented at the workshop included representatives from the key government institutions, development partners and the main private sector energy players in this Pacific island country. The NERM-IP review is currently undertaken by the Subbarao Consulting Firm from New Zealand with funding support from GGGI. GGGI’s support to Vanuatu over the last four years has been largely focused on the energy sector, and in particular supporting Vanuatu to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets through planning for increased use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, including productive use of renewable energy for green growth in key economic sectors such as tourism, agriculture and water. GGGI’s work in Vanuatu has included updating the National Energy Road Map in partnership with the World Bank and supporting the establishment of the National Green Energy Fund (NGEF) – a financial mechanisms designed to accelerate the achievement of the national energy targets in the NERM.