September 01, 2026
Meeting at this year’s Pacific
Islands Forum Leaders gathering in Palau, and on the eve of
a landmark report by the United Nations expected to
foreshadow that a critical planetary tipping point is about
to be breached, Pacific Island leaders will gather in Palau
today to launch a bold and innovative new 100%
Renewable Blue Pacific Investment Prospectus to
help drive US$2 billion in new investment towards a cleaner
and more energy-secure future.
Launched by the new
Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, H.E. Surangel Whipps Jr.
of Palau, this new Pacific renewable energy investment tool
comes against the backdrop of a fossil fuel crisis triggered
by the events in the Straits of Hormuz, causing some
countries in the Pacific to declare an economic
emergency.
Despite boasting some of the world’s most
ambitious renewable energy and emissions reduction targets,
the Pacific Islands still together spend an estimated $6
billion per year on importing fossil fuels. For some Pacific
countries, this fossil fuel bill is as high as 5-15% of
their GDP.
The new Prospectus comes on the eve of what
is expected to be a deeply concerning new study by the
United Nations Environment Programme highlighting that the
1.5°C temperature limit at the heart of the Paris Agreement
is now under serious threat, and will be increasingly
difficult to return to if emissions and the resulting
warming continue unabated through to about 1.8-1.9°C above
pre-industrial levels.
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The latest UNEP science and the
new 100% Renewable Blue Pacific Investment Prospectus will
be the focus of a special ‘Leaders Ascent
Dialogue’ to be convened today (September 1st) by
President Whipps as a key unifying moment in the lead-up to
the Pacific Pre-COP to be held in Fiji and Tuvalu in early
October.
Speakers will include the Prime Minister of
Australia, the largest development partner in the Pacific,
the global heads of the Asian Development Bank and the
UNFCCC’s Green Climate Fund, as well as the United States
Deputy Secretary of State.
“This event is designed
to raise our sights on the ascent of ambition towards
Antalya” (the location of this year’s COP31 Climate
Conference), President Whipps said.
“This Prospectus
is a much needed and practical tool to accelerate Pacific
work and investment in on our vision to become the first
100% renewables-powered region in the world. It details
priority projects and country pipelines to capture progress
and the necessary next steps, seeking to take full advantage
of the regional and international diplomatic moments now so
close on the horizon. The ultimate success of the Prospectus
effort will be measured in dollars, deals and
decarbonisation.”
At a country level, the Prospectus
highlights a new vision for Palau to reach 100% renewable
electricity on its grid as soon as 2032, driven largely by
new investment in a second, larger-scale solar PV and
battery farm to complement the 15MW Solar Pacific Pristine
Power project, commissioned in 2023 through support from the
Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific
(AIFFP).
The preparation of the Prospectus was
mandated by Pacific Regional Energy & Transport
Ministers in Port Moresby, PNG, in early May this year, with
the Secretariat of the Pacific Community as the main
coordinating regional
agency.
