Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister has welcomed New Zealand's newly-announced climate change strategy.
Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa Photo: Dominic Godfrey / RNZ Pacific
Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is in New Zealand to speak at the Just Transition Summit in Taranaki today which aims to help plot New Zealand's course to a low-emissions economy.
New Zealand's government this week introduced a bill to provide a framework for the country's transition to carbon neutrality over the next 30 years.
The Taranaki summit is part of the framework's implementation.
Fiame, who is also Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment, said Samoa is pleased about the climate policy shift which is now more aligned with the Pacific's.
"For us in the Pacific, we're very happy that this has occurred because the role that New Zealand and Australia play in the region, they're both members of the Pacific Island Leaders' Forum, and it's always good to have most of the family having a consensus around critical issues and climate change is a critical issue," she said.
Samoa's strategy to prioritise renewable energy and other environmentally sustainable measures are the subject of her presentation at the summit.
"Moving away from fossil fuels is not only climatically the correct thing to do, but it also assists with our budgetary circumstances and the dependence on that, and moving into the more renewable energy technologies that are now available," said Fiame Naomi Mata'afa.
The Cook Islands' prime minister Henry Puna will also talk about efforts to combat global warming.
