Fiji launches FJD$5.2 million carbon market plan to enable first international carbon trade by 2030

Fiji has launched a FJD$5.2 million (US$2.6 million) five-year plan to build the systems and frameworks needed to participate in international carbon markets. The 2026-2030 plan, introduced at Pacific Pre-COP31 in Nadi, covers renewable energy, sustainable forestry, waste management, and protection of forests, mangroves, and other ecosystems. The government says the goal is to complete the country's first international carbon trade by 2030. The plan puts communities and resource owners at the center, with an emphasis on fair benefit-sharing and safeguards. It was developed by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change with the Ministry of Forestry and Conservation International. Fiji is now calling on development partners to support implementation. For carbon market participants, the key details to watch are how Fiji handles credit ownership on customary land, how it builds monitoring and verification capacity, and which projects get funded first. Those choices will determine whether the plan delivers real climate finance or remains a policy framework.