24 March 2013, Auckland New Zealand - Helping Pacific Island Countries and Territories achieve their renewable energy targets is at the core of a two day Pacific energy summit hosted by the New Zealand Government and the European Union.
Opening today, the event has brought together Pacific heads of state, development partners and stakeholders to help forge a way forward to a Pacific that is less reliant on fossil fuel. Pacific Islands spend, on average, 10 percent of their gross domestic product importing petroleum products.
Pacific Leaders address delegates at the Pacific Energy Summit
In all 79 project and activities with an indicative project value of NZD 1.6 billion have been identified by Pacific island countries as a priority. Around half of these projects with a total value close to NZD 800 million are not fully funded and offer potential for private or public sector funding in part or whole.
"We all understand the nature of the problem confronting our region, the majority of Pacific island nations are dependent on electricity generated from diesel," said Hon. Murray McCully, Minister for Foreign Affairs of New Zealand.
"We can measure the success of this conference in whether we can turn our resources into practical outcomes for the year ahead."
Work conducted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to support the Pacific achieve their renewable energy targets will be outlined by on day two of the summit during a session on resource mapping and data sharing. Developing a comprehensive picture of the energy sector is a crucial step to provide governments with the information needed to support the sustainable growth of renewable energy.
Pacific Leaders address delegates at the Pacific Energy Summit
"We are trying to work cooperatively with other agencies in supporting countries, looking practically at how we can help the Pacific achieve their fantastic, but ambitious renewable energy target," said Mr. David Sheppard, the Director-General of SPREP.
25 million euro to support renewable energy projects in the Pacific was announced today by the Development Commissioner of the European Union, Andris Piebalgs. He told the summit the EU is working hard to help the Pacific meet specific challenges to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels that despite the physical distance the relationship between the Pacific and the EU is becoming closer.
"How we deliver new allocated funds will be decided after this summit. We now need to discuss how best to use this 25 million euro grant in the shortest time possible."
Day one of the summit also featured the highlights from the pacific Leaders' Energy Summit hosted by the Government of Tonga and development partners. Pacific Energy Sector Profiles of each Pacific island country and territory have also been shared amongst summit delegates.
The Pacific Energy Summit is taking place at the Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand from 24 – 26 March, 2013.