Brussels, 09/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On the sidelines of the 46th Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Wednesday 9 September, the EU and four Pacific island states - the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau and Nauru - signed joint declarations to enhance their cooperation on sustainable energy.
Other similar declarations will be signed this week between the EU and other Pacific islands - Tonga and Niue (a self-governing territory in association with New Zealand). These declarations are being signed with a view to the UN climate conference (COP 21) in Paris in November.
The declarations aim to make the energy sectors of the Pacific islands more sustainable through boosting energy efficiency measures and renewable energy. They also affirm the EU's commitment to work with the Pacific islands in order to reach this goal.
“Sustainable energy is the fuel for sustainable development. This is especially true in the Pacific islands where imported fuel dependency is hampering economic growth, and where climate change impacts are more present than anywhere else. That is why the European Union supports the Pacific countries' efforts to develop renewable energy and boost energy savings”, said European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete, who was representing the EU in Port Moresby.
The small island states of the Pacific are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change -particularly due to rising sea levels and changing weather patterns, including an increase in storms and natural disasters like cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis. Some of them, such as Tonga, are also suffering from the pressure of rising oil prices and have therefore agreed to cut dependence on oil imports, the Commission states.
“If collective action is not taken to tackle climate change, the tide will rise and those islands will be the proverbial canary in the coalmine”, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned in his State of the Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday 9 September. (Emmanuel Hagry)