fuel. Between 1990 and 1994 power losses have varied between 13.8% and 21.6%. Option for mitigation that has been identified is energy saving at end uses. It is also recognised that the electric grids were designed when demand was lower. Power factors have also decreased especially over recent years, after 1994, which may imply that the electricity may not be optimally produced. Evaluation of the electricity generation system is also a mitigation option. Reticulated water supply is provided for residents on South Tarawa and on Kiritimati. As a conservation measure, water supply is rationed. In the past, consumers were charged for the amount of water they used but maintenance and monitoring of the system had proved problematic and was discontinued. Water meters and rates would provide better means of monitoring consumption at the end use level. Photovoltic cell systems are used in some rural areas to provide lighting for community buildings and some traditional houses. On some islands, solar pumps are installed to bring water from wells located away from the village areas closer to the households. Solar water pumps are also installed at the secondary schools in rural areas. This system has discouraged the inevitable increase in the use of small power generators at the rural areas. Solar energy technology, its development, and application should be encouraged. In South Tarawa, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) has a monopoly in the generation and distribution of electricity. The current policy is to encourage competition to supplement the PUB’s supply (National Planning Office. 1997). There is an increase in the number of vehicles running on the road. The number of private passenger cars is increasing faster than the number of vehicles currently used for public transport. Import tariffs for the former are higher than for the latter. However, the tariffs do not distinguish between new vehicles and used vehicles. Tariffs could be made to reflect more of the contributions that the different vehicles are expected to make to the greenhouse gas emissions. Trees and plants that are recognised as being owned by landowners are well managed and protected. But other trees and shrubs are freely exploited, or simply cleared, and are not replanted. Grasses are normally weeded out as they are considered as waste. This traditional attitude about cleaning is being discouraged through radio programmes and replanting of these wild trees and shrubs is encouraged through biodiversity programmes. Public awareness programmes to extend value systems to include environmental resources should contribute to the mitigation of climate change. Waste disposal in the urban area of South Tarawa is in the form of open dump. The site is normally at the shoreline and in a number of cases waste streams disposed have been used as fill materials for land reclamation. Open dumping and other engineering methods for managing waste disposals would have different emission factors. Alternative forms of waste disposal could produce less methane than open dumping. Research on the atoll system and human activities, including agro-forestry, shore based fisheries activities, and waste disposals should also provide knowledge leading to the recognition of other potential options for mitigation.
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