SDG7 Roadmap for Fiji

Transitioning the energy sector to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the objectives of the Paris Agreement presents a complex and difficult task for policymakers. It needs to ensure sustained economic growth as well as respond to increasing energy demand, reduce emissions, and consider and capitalize on the interlinkages between Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) and other SDGs. In this connection, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (ESCAP) has developed the National Expert SDG Tool for Energy Planning (NEXSTEP). This tool enables policymakers to make informed policy decisions to support the achievement of the SDG7 targets as well as emission reduction targets, i.e., nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The initiative has been undertaken in response to the Ministerial Declaration of the Second Asian and Pacific Energy Forum (April 2018, Bangkok) and Commission Resolution 74/9, which endorsed its outcome. NEXSTEP also gained the support of the Committee on Energy in its second session, with recommendations to expand the number of countries being supported by this tool.

The key objective of this SDG7 roadmap is to assist the Government of Fiji to develop enabling policy measures to achieve the SDG7 targets. This roadmap contains a matrix of technological options and enabling policy measures for the Government to consider. Using national data, existing energy policies and strategies as well as other development plans, the NEXSTEP tool (methodology is presented in chapter 2) has developed seven scenarios for Fiji. These are the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario,current policy scenario, SDG scenario and four ambitious scenarios that look beyond achieving SDG7.