Climate Resilient Green Growth in PNG

PNG’s primary development strategies – the PNG Vision 2050, the Development Strategic Plan (DSP) 2010-2030 and the National Strategy for Responsible Sustainable Development (StaRS) – lay out the path to achieve green growth. However, sustainable and inclusive development is threatened by the impacts of climate change: 85 percent of PNG’s labor force rely on subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods and are vulnerable to changing climatic conditions. Under the DSP, PNG has committed to securing access to reliable, affordable, and modern clean energy sources for over 70 percent of households and all businesses by 2030. In 2016, nearly 23 percent of the population had access to electricity, and electricity is still often unreliable. Today, PNG’s electricity generation includes 40 percent hydropower and 38 percent diesel, but there are strong possibilities to expand geothermal and, in particular, solar energy.