On November 8-10, the Pacific Islands Transport Forum and Expo brought together representatives from governments and organisations, from the region and beyond. The conference was kicked off by a speech from the President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine; over the course of the conference, the Laucala Declaration on the Decarbonisation of Pacific Islands Transportation was drafted, which is open for signing by all willing partners; and you can watch the spirited panel discussions (and listen to the music!):
Thursday, 8 November:
Session 1: Setting the Scene
Taholo Kami, COP23 Secretariat (moderator); David Kolitagane, Permanent Secretary, MoIT, Fiji; Albon Ishoda, Special Envoy, RMI; François Martel, Secretary-General, PIDF.
Session 2: Progressive strategies and technologies employed globally
Iosefa Maiava, UNESCAP (moderator); Hon. Monise La’afai, Minister of Communications & Transport, Tuvalu; Mohammed Zullah, SPC/MTCC, Fiji; Katerina Syngellakis, GGGI, Fiji.
Session 3: SDGs, NDCs, trade and economics
Peter French, World Food Programme (moderator); Apisake Soakai, IRENA; Nilesh Prakash, NDC Hub, Fiji; Karen Hollows, Peace Boat.
Session 4: Linkages between transport sub-sectors: Land – Sea – Air and improving logistics
Andrew Irvin, IUCN (moderator); Michael Traut, MCST, USP, RMI; Peter Schaller, Regional head of supply chain, Asia Pacific, WFP.
Session 5: Innovative solutions
Peter Nuttall, MCST, USP (moderator); Liam Morrison, Swire Shipping; Arvind Maharaj, Tebara Buses; Andrew Irvin, IUCN.
Friday, 9 November:
Songs: History & Rise up
Performed by Mia Kami, USP, Suva.
Session 6: Transport Policy - Technology, Infrastructure, and guiding the market
Andrew Jones, Director GEMD, SPC (moderator); Lui Naisara, Deputy Secretary, MoIT, Fiji; Andre Siohane, DG Ministry of Infrastructure, Niue; Michael Traut, MCST, USP, RMI.
Session 7: Cross-cutting Themes – Health, Nutrition, and Food Security
Peter French, WFP, Fiji (moderator); Jone Vakalalabure, WFP, Fiji; Nassir Hassan, WHO, Fiji.
Session 8: Issues, challenges, and opportunities - land & maritime
Albon Ishoda, Special Envoy, RMI (moderator); Stephen Maesiola, PS, Solomon Islands; Peter Nuttall, MCST, USP, RMI; Pierre-Jean Bordahandy, Law School, USP.
Session 9: Financing the transition; options for funding and incentivising early leaders
Kamal Gounder, Ministry of Economy, Fiji (moderator); Jale Samuwai, OXFAM, Pacific; David Fay, Asian Development Bank, Pacific.
Session 10: How do we get there?
Kristin Deason, GGGI, Fiji (moderator); Christoper Ryan UNESCAP, Thailand; Derrick Armstrong, USP, Fiji; Peter French, WFP.
Session 11: Visioning 2030 & 2050 goals
John Connor, COP23 Secretariat (moderator); John Connor, COP23; Iosefa Maiava, UNESCAP; Albon Ishoda, Special Envoy, RMI; David Koligatane, PS MoIT, Fiji.
Saturday, 10 November:
PIDF-hosted Green Growth Panel: What constitutes sustainable growth in the Transport Sector?
Mark Borg, PIDF (moderator); Arvind Maharaj, Tebara Buses, Fiji; Andrew Irvin, IUCN; Albon Ishoda, Special Envoy, RMI; Peter Nuttall, MCST, USP, RMI;
MCST-hosted panel: Low carbon shipping – from the global to the local
Michael Traut, MCST, USP, RMI (moderator); Simon Bennett, Swire Shipping; Simon Penny, UC Irvine, California; Peter Nuttall, MCST, USP, RMI.
