Pacific Island ministers announce plan for regional roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels

Today, Pacific Island ministers announced their intention to develop a regional roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. 

In response, Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy lead at Oil Change International said: 

“The Pacific is leading the way once again, showing what real climate leadership and the fight for survival looks like. The countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis are making clear that moving beyond fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy is not only necessary, but also possible and beneficial. 

“Their leadership stands in stark contrast to major Global North fossil fuel producers who fight wars over oil and gas and plan to flood the world with more fossil fuels at a time of already catastrophic climate impacts, while failing to deliver climate finance at a level that meets needs. But there is no denying the risk they are choosing: without plans to diversify their economies and revenues and support the transition globally, producing countries will not only face worsening climate impacts, but also lose out on stable government revenues and green jobs as the global energy system shifts away from fossil fuels. 

“Alongside reiterating their commitment to fossil fuel phaseout, Pacific leaders underlined that changes to unfair global financial rules and access to climate finance, provided on fair terms, at a level that meet needs and delivered with speed is key for the Pacific Islands and the rest of the Global South to be able to transition to a fossil free future.

“It’s time for every government to follow Pacific nations’ lead and put forward credible, equitable, policy-backed and fairly funded plans to transition away from fossil fuels.”

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