Translating the Paris Agreement into Action in the Pacific

This book provides an insight into how a country contributes to the GHG emissions reductions required to keep global warming within the limits set by the Paris Agreement arrived at COP21 in 2015. It shows what actions are needed for the implementation plan that Fiji will use to satisfy its quota (i.e. its Nationally Determined Contribution or NDC) of the total GHG emissions reductions.

It is a primary resource material for those who wish to obtain an understanding of the science behind climate change mitigation. It reveals the behind-the-scenes action that takes place to convert the rhetoric of climate change into the action on the ground that actually reduces the GHG emissions and global warming. The book also presents a critique of methods adopted by nations in meeting their NDCs to emissions reductions as agreed at the Paris Agreement, and suggests improvements.

Part 1 Introduction.- Fiji’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Implementation Roadmap.- Mitigating through renewable energy – an overview of the requirements and the challenges.- Part 2 Mitigation Actions.- Contributions from hydropower – large and small.- Power from biomass- the importance of efficiency and fuel supply logistics.- Bagasse-fired thermal power generation in Fiji.- Waste to Energy from municipal solid wastes – incineration and biogas-based power generation.- Wind power possibilities.- Potential for large-scale solar farms – contribution to avoided emissions.- Biofuels for transportation – a GIS-based resource assessment.- Coconut oil for biodiesel production – a full life cycle analysis of emissions reduction.- Biodiesel production – dealing with the economic challenge.- Biodiesel production – dealing with the economic challenge.- Electricity generation now and later – energy modelling and forecasting.-Part 3 Efficacy of the Roadmap.- Taking stock – an overall assessment of the NDC Implementation Roadmap.

Anirudh Singh, PhD is a researcher/writer/consultant in Renewable Energy and Climate Change and is currently a Professor in Renewable Energy at the University of Fiji, where he coordinates the Masters in Renewable Energy Management programme. Dr. Singh is also Associate Editor of Management of Environmental Quality – An International Journal published by the Emerald group publishing.

Anirudh spent the major portion of his teaching/research career at the University of the South Pacific (USP) where he taught postgraduate and undergraduate courses in Physics and Renewable Energy and managed two major capacity-building projects in Renewable Energy within international EU-funded collaborations.

Dr. Singh has section-edited a Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation for Springer, written one EU-funded introductory book on Renewable Energy, a concise book in renewable energy for an international publisher, eleven book chapters and more than 50 papers in international journalsand conference proceedings. He has organized in excess of 16 academic and capacity-building events, including chairing/co-chairing 2 international conferences, 2 regional workshops and 12 energy workshops conducted at USP.

Before his career in renewable energy, Anirudh carried out muon implantation research at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Leicester University in the UK where he obtained his PhD in Condensed Matter Physics.