New source of income will be created for communities through the Climate Change Bill 2021 – AG

The Climate Change Bill 2021 is being debated in parliament which deals with carbon trading and Attorney General and Minister for Climate Change, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says this is a wonderful opportunity for landowners to gain directly from this.

Sayed-Khaiyum stresses property rights are protected.

He says they have brought this legislation simply to create legal framework for recognizing the rights of property owners and the process for registering projects, creating and transferring tradable units, creating a new set of rights and new tradable unit of value which means Fiji can benefit from emerging carbon markets.

Sayed-Khaiyum stresses the Government cannot progress transactions without the consent of the landowners or the iTaukei Land Trust Board.

He also clarified that if someone has a logging lease and wants to do carbon trading, he or she will have to get the consent of the TLTB and one cannot change the purpose of the lease.

As Sayed-Khaiyum was explaining to parliament the processes involved in getting into carbon trading, some opposition parliamentarians also started talking about Bill No.17. He called on them to listen to the explanation, and then said an opposition MP is acting like a buffoon.

There will be a national register which will give property rights to resource owners.

Sayed-Khaiyum says there is a two layered system in the bill that ensures all parties have given their consent.

The Minister for Economy says new potential sources of income for communities will be created through the Climate Change Bill 2021.