Port Vila, Vanuatu, 15 June 2023 – The Government of Vanuatu, vehicle dealerships, and civil society representatives met this week to validate the proposed Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards for Vanuatu. The validation workshop follows almost 12 months of consultations, data gathering, and analysis that has informed the development of a draft Vehicle Emissions Policy Brief and a draft Fuel Quality Policy Brief for the consideration of the Government, the Private Sector as well as Civil Society.

In his opening remarks, Acting Director General of the Ministry of Climate Change, Mr. Abraham Nasak shared that “Vanuatu imports on average over a thousand vehicles every year. As the number of vehicles increases, our greenhouse gas emissions also increase including air pollution that may have detrimental effects on human health. That is why we need policies on vehicle standards in Vanuatu to ensure that only low-emitting vehicles are being imported into the country.”

Through a hybrid workshop organized by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Private Sector, Government as well as Civil Society representatives were able to discuss, ask questions, and provide feedback to guide Vanuatu in this new sustainable development pathway whilst ensuring a minimal impact on key stakeholders in the Private Sector as well as the consumers in Vanuatu.

With Vanuatu already importing Euro 5 quality fuel, a key recommendation from the validation workshop was for Vanuatu to consider restricting future vehicle imports to only Euro 4 vehicles initially and then progressively elevate to Euro 5 standard. This initial restriction would not prevent the importation of vehicles that are above the Euro 4 standard.

Following the validation workshop, policy briefs will be finalized and tabled by the Ministry of Climate Change to the Council of Ministers. Once approved legal drafting instructions will be made available to the Office of the Attorney General so the relevant regulations are prepared.

Jesse Benjamin, Senior Program Officer for GGGI Vanuatu Office noted “We appreciate the Private Sector for its positive engagement and commitment through out this process and we look forward to their continued partnership as we move forward. We also acknowledge the Ministry of Climate Change for its leadership as well as the commitment of all the other national stakeholders and we look forward to continue advancing the next steps in partnership with everyone”.

The Vanuatu Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards Project is funded through the Low Emission Carbon Climate Resilient Development (LECRD) Programme of the New Zealand Government, it is administered in Vanuatu by GGGI and is executed by the Government of Vanuatu through the Department of Energy and the National Air Quality Taskforce under the Ministry of Climate Change.

Contact: Mr. Jesse Benjamin
Senior Program Officer – GGGI
Department of Energy
Email: jesse.benjamin@gggi.org
Mobile: 5523123