Climate Change Impact and Structural Reforms in Kiribati
KIRIBATI
C. Mitigation
14. Although being one of the smallest emitters in the world, Kiribati pledged ambitious
reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Nationally Determined Contributions of
the Paris Agreement. The country currently emits about 79 kilotons of CO2 per year, or 0.68 tons
per capita, which is a marked increase from 0.32 tons of CO2 in 1990, but still very low (WRI, 2021).
Nonetheless, under the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, all countries are
expected to contribute to the global efforts to mitigate climate change in accordance with their
capacity. Indeed, Kiribati has committed to reducing emissions by 8.0 percent by 2030 compared to
a business-as-usual (BAU) projection (Republic of Kiribati, 2022). On the condition of receiving
international support, the commitment becomes significantly more ambitions, up to a reduction of
23.8 percent against the 2030 BAU projection.
15.
Introducing renewable energy is one of the most effective ways to achieve emissions
reductions for Kiribati. Solar panels were first installed since 1990s. However, development
stagnated due to high cost of maintenance—only 0.35 percent of total power generation nationwide
in 2017 was from solar energy (GoK, 2021). In its Development Plan 2020-2023, the government
embraces an ambitious goal of being a "100-percent solar-powered country by 2036" by developing
a centralization of solar power system, both in outer islands and in South Tarawa.
The outer islands have no on-grid power systems, except for Kiritimati islands. The main power
supply is from private diesel generators. Since early 1990s, Kiribati has developed solar energy with
the installation of off-grid solar panels in the outer islands, which was then enhanced in 2005 under
funding from development partners such as European Union and Taiwan Province of China. This led
to significant results. In 2019, over 70 percent of households in Central Gilbert relied on solar panel
electricity for lightning (KNSO, 2021). The numbers were also high for other groups of outer islands:
Southern Gilbert, 49 percent; Line and Phoenix Islands, 35 percent; and Northern Gilbert,
15 percent. In 2021, the Promoting Outer Island Development through the Integrated Energy
Roadmap (POIDIER), a climate mitigation project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
trust fund, was launched to enhance renewable energy and energy efficiency targets in outer islands.
When completed, the project is anticipated to install and distribute "high-quality solar grid system at
globally competitive costs" for the outer islands, as well as creating a demo of electricity revenue
and billing system to facilitate financial sustainability and secure maintenance cost (MISE, 2021).
•
South Tarawa: Electricity in the capital South Tarawa is produced using diesel generators and
transmitted to the main grid for consumption. In 2019, 88 percent of household in South Tarawa
used on-grid electricity, while the use of electricity from solar panel was only 2 percent
(KNSO, 2021). Accordingly, about 50 percent of the country's total imported fuel in 2019 was used
for the main-grid power generation (GoK, 2021). The Kiribati Grid Connected Solar Photovoltaic (PV)
Project started in 2012, with the help of grants from the GEF and Australian government, had
jumpstarted the power system and increased the share of renewable energy in the main grid to
8 The lower shares of solar electricity in Phoenix Islands and Northern Gilbert islands reflect their ability to access to
on-grid electricity in Kiritimati Islands and South Tarawa, respectively.
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND 9View entire presentation