Climate Change Act 2021

Approved

This climate change act was approved by parliament on September 23, 2021, and will come into force as soon as published in the Gazette. It sets the legal framework to enable the country's mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk management actions. Article 6 recognises and declares that Fiji and the Earth are facing a climate emergency. The document establishes the National Climate Change Coordination Committee, the National Adaptation Plan Steering Committee, the Fijian Adaptation Registry, the Fijian Taskforce on the Relocation and Displacement of Communities Vulnerable to the Impacts of Climate Change, the National Ocean Policy Steering Committee, and may establish a private sector advisory committee. The act charges the government to develop and implement a national climate change policy until 2030 and for successive periods of 10 years, as well as a a detailed Transport Decarbonisation Implementation Strategy and a National Ocean Policy. It further: 1) aims to provide for the relocation of at-risk communities and safeguard their rights, 2) sets a net zero emissions target for 2050, 3) sets the legal framework to enable carbon sequestration, carbon stocks and emissions reduction projects (art. 45 to 60), 4) charges relevant agencies to conduct risk assessments and to decide on new buildings and infrastructure approvals based on resilience estimates, 5) makes provisions for the implementation of sustainable financing (art 87 onward).