FAO.org

Rome, Italy – Solomon Islands is taking significant steps toward building its adaptive capacity and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Like many other Pacific Island nations, Solomon Islands is highly vulnerable to disasters and climate change. Rising sea levels and extreme weather events pose serious risks, particularly to the majority of the population living in rural, low-lying coastal areas. The country relies almost entirely on imported fossil fuels for its primary energy supply. Additionally, many households use firewood for cooking, often sourced informally from forests and mangroves, which further reduces their adaptive capacity to climate change.

The Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA) programme aims to enhance the adaptive capacity and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of 12 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) through its International Climate Initiative (IKI), this initiative is co-led by FAO and UNDP.

SCALA also includes a Private Sector Engagement Facility which aims to strengthen partnerships and mobilize resources by identifying private sector interventions that align with national priorities, addressing the significant financing gap in agriculture and fostering innovative climate solutions. The Facility is working closely with Solomon Islands to support its goals of achieving net-zero emission and increasing access to reliable, affordable and renewable energy by 2050, as set in its NDCs and NAPs.

“Climate change is a cross-cutting issue that affects all sectors of society, and therefore, a very important priority for the government. In addition to our National Climate Change Policy, which we launched last year, we also have a Low-Emissions Development Strategy (LEDS) as part of our long-term adaptation plan,” said Chanel Iroi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology in Solomon Islands.

A key solution to fossil fuel and firewood reliance Solomon Islands eyes is the establishment of a biogas plant that utilizes pig waste to produce clean energy and offset greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector, while protecting mangroves and the coastline from the impacts of climate change. FAO and UNDP have supported the Solomon Islands conduct a feasibility assessment to evaluate the viability of biogas in commercial pig farms, considering existing agricultural residues, available technologies, and local conditions.

Conducted in two phases, the study initially focused on analyzing a pilot farm to determine biogas potential from pig manure. The second phase realized detailed engineering planning and stakeholder consultations to facilitate biogas plant establishment in pig farms across the country. Moreover, another case study is being conducted on municipal solid waste to further explore the potential for biogas production from this waste stream.

This feasibility study is part of SCALA's Private Sector Engagement Facility, which bridges financing gaps by providing technical assistance in value chain analysis, facilitating cross-sectoral dialogues and fostering stronger partnerships between public and private sectors to develop and implement climate solutions.

Watch this video to get a closer look at how the SCALA programme is driving change in the Solomon Islands.