The Pacific Region is home to some eight million people scattered over an area comprising one third of the Earth’s surface. It is estimated that 70 per cent of Pacific Islanders do not have access to energy. Those who do, rely heavily on fossil fuels, such as diesel or kerosene. If dependency on fossil fuels is a challenge for developed countries, the developing Pacific Island nations are even more vulnerable to the ever rising oil prices. The region is home to some of the poorest countries in the world, forced to spend more than 60 per cent of export earnings on fossil fuel imports.

One way to address this problem is the uptake of clean and affordable energy which would at the same time address the problem of greenhouse gas emissions from the consumption of diesel and kerosene in the region. This concept is very much in line with the work of the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). REEEP is a public-private partnership facilitating clean energy policy and assisting with the development of financing models for renewable energy projects. The partnership believes that renewable energy combined with energy efficiency is the key to reducing poverty, increasing living standards and addressing environmental degradation.

As a major stakeholder in the region, REEEP South East Asia and the Pacific was invited to Samoa in November 2007 to join the Inception Workshop of one of the most significant climate change mitigation projects in the region to date - the Pacific Islands Greenhouse Gas Abatement through Renewable Energy Project (PIGGAREP). REEEP joined the representatives of the eleven Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and other regional organisations to jumpstart the activities which will contribute to the global environmental and development goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. PIGGAREP aims to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel in the PICs through the removal of barriers to the widespread and cost effective use of feasible renewable energy technologies.

With its ability to draw on a global network of expertise and knowledge, REEEP is well positioned to assist PIGGAREP and the nations of the Pacific to achieve their commendable goal. In concrete terms, the PICs have identified over 150 projects to be funded through PIGGAREP ranging from specific application of technology to the establishment of regulatory frameworks encouraging uptake of clean and affordable energy. REEEP is able to assist with expertise in the areas of policy and regulation and innovative financing mechanisms.

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Together with our colleagues in the region, we are looking forward to an exciting period in which PIGGAREP has the potential to substantially improve the livelihoods and energy security of our neighbours in the Pacific.

The Clean Energy Council hosts the South East Asia and Pacific Secretariat of the REEEP.