European Union Pacific Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Adaptation

Background

The 10th European Development Fund European Union Pacific Technical and Vocational Education and Training on Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Adaptation (European Union PacTVET) project is component three within the broader regional Adapting to Climate Change and Sustainable Energy (ACSE) programme.The project builds on the recognition that energy security and climate change are major issues that are currently hindering the social, environmental and economic development of Pacific - African Caribbean and Pacific (P-ACP) countries.

In order to contribute to the betterment of Pacific livelihoods across the region, while acknowledging the different issues that each nation faces with climate change, these programmes in Resilience (which includes Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction) and Sustainable Energy would be implemented at the technical skills level, from Certificates I-IV. In addition, this project takes a regional approach and proposes that these programmes be accrediated both nationally, and across the 15 P-ACP countries involved.

The EU PacTVET project team worked closely with the Fiji Higher Education Committee to establish the basic competencies for the proposed programmes in 2014. In October of the same year, a regional meeting with the other member countries was held and a "Needs and Gaps analysis" was conducted to establish what each nation would be able to provide, and what services would need to be delivered. An Industry Standards Advisory Committee for CCA and SE was also created, consisting of members from the participating 15 P-CAP countries.

EU PacTVET Objectives

The general objective of this project is to enhance sustainable livelihoods in and across the Pacific Region. Sustainable livelihoods are a high priority for Pacific Island communities and governments alike. They are central to current development policy including resource management and conservation but also in emerging policy to meet threats such as climate change. The project aims to enhance Pacific regional and national capacity and technical expertise to respond to climate change adaptation (CCA) and sustainable energy (SE) challenges. The project is being implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in partnership with the University of the South Pacific (USP) over a period of 53 months from August 2014 with an overall budget of EUR 6.1 million. It will achieve the following results:

• Assess national training needs in SE and CCA and existing informal and formal TVET
• training courses and training and education providers are identified and strengthened
• Develop and implement benchmarks, competency standards and courses on Training of Trainers (ToT) and create a pool of national trainers
• Develop and establish training courses and support facilities within TVET institutions
• Strengthen networking in SE and Resilience (CCA and DRR)

The project is being implemented in a sequential approach. Result 1 activities will provide a more detailed/clearer understanding of countries' needs and their requirements from the project. The activities under Results 2 and 3 will be then be tailored to the country needs.

Context

Current total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions stand at 36.9 gigatonnes of CO2 (GgtCO2). Of this global GHG emission, Pacific Island countries emit less than 0.03% yet they are among the most vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change - the first to be exposed and the least able to respond. Hence there is a moral obligation for the island countries to start implementing measures to not only mitigate GHG but also adapt to climate imposed environmental change, and prepare for future adaptation measures. In spite of efforts to reduce Pacific-African Caribbean and Pacific (P-ACP) countries reliance on fossil fuels and improve energy security almost all Pacific Island countries remain highly dependent on imported petroleum products for energy generation and transportation, which are the two major petroleum consumption sectors in the region. With the Pacific Island countries facing challenges posed by climate change and energy security, sustainable energy and climate change adaptation are undeniably ranked above all other sectors in regional priorities, as evident through regionally endorsed frameworks, such as the wider Pacific Plan and the more specific Pacific Islands Framework Action on Climate Change (PIFACC) and the Framework Action on Energy Security in the Pacific (FAESP) and individual national policies. Efforts in addressing energy security and climate change adaptation challenges are ongoing through various regional and national projects. On climate change mitigation, there were some familiar projects such as the Pacific Islands Greenhouse Gas Abatement through  Renewable Energy Project (PIGGAREP) that addresses mitigation and Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) that focused on climate change adaptation. The PIGGAREP focuses on complementing PICs initiatives in promoting the widespread use of renewable energy in the regions and PACC focused on three thematic areas, namely, “Food security”;“Water Security” and “Coastal Management” - assisting communities to implement activities that help them in these three areas. Additionally the University of the South Pacific’s European Union Global Climate Change Alliance project has been active in all 15 PACPs enabling climate change adaptation by formal and informal education, direct community engagement and applied research. Sustainability of such projects is very important. Now that these projects are coming to their end, it is important that knowledge and skills being acquired and/or hardware that were put in place continue to function and be beneficial to the targeted beneficiaries. Not only on the renewable energy side, but on overall energy services, where there needs to be awareness and improvements to energy efficiency and conservation and what measures needs to be taken to use energy in a sustainable manner as compared to energy misuse and wastage.

Location

The EU PacTVET project will be implemented in the Pacific region comprising of 15 Pacific ACP countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Climate change is affecting the livelihoods of the P-ACP communities causing varying degrees of adversity depending on location.