PORT VILA, Friday 17 April 2026 — Pacific governments and civil society got here collectively in Vanuatu this week as a part of a key regional assembly forward of the landmark First Worldwide Convention for the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, later this month, in opposition to the backdrop of a worldwide power disaster which has seen Pacific Island nations hit particularly arduous.
The assembly, held from April 13-15, noticed a brand new landmark declaration: The Tassiriki Name for a Fossil Gasoline Free Pacific. Leaders cited the power disaster as proof of the hazards of fossil gas dependence and the pressing have to transition away from fossil fuels. The numerous local weather finance hole was recognized as a key constraint to the transition within the area.
The worldwide power disaster pushed by the US and Israel’s unlawful struggle on Iran has raised the stakes for a area that’s among the many most weak to each local weather change however can be one of the crucial fuel-exposed economies on the planet. Many Pacific nations are grappling with gas shortages that threaten energy and primary providers on account of rising gas prices, with Tuvalu declaring a 14-day state of emergency.
Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, who attended the assembly, mentioned: “By no means earlier than has the necessity to finish the fossil gas chokehold been so abundantly clear, as our Pacific communities once more undergo the implications of a worldwide economic system hooked on coal, oil and gasoline.
“It’s all the time unusual individuals who undergo the prices of struggle — whether or not harmless civilians killed by bombs, or our communities seeing meals and energy payments soar, whereas already bearing the brunt of a value of residing and local weather disaster.
“This assembly comes at a crucial second, and was a possibility for a renewed push for a Fossil Gasoline Free Pacific. The federal government leaders and civil society current on the assembly continued to strongly affirm Pacific’s standing as a worldwide chief on local weather motion. Momentum is constructing forward of Santa Marta, and as Australia prepares to preside over the subsequent spherical of worldwide local weather negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye, in partnership with the Pacific.
“Pressing motion to transition away from fossil fuels is prime to limiting warming to 1.5°C — a survival line for Pacific communities, but in addition a path of liberation that frees us from costly, extractive and polluting fossil gas imports and uplifts our communities. The Pacific has performed a significant position in getting up to now, shaping worldwide agreements and holding the road on 1.5°C.
“The section out of fossil fuels depends upon decided worldwide cooperation, notably on the subject of unlocking the finance wanted to help nations and communities with implementing options. It’s critical the transition is grounded in Pacific information and led by the native communities who stay these realities on daily basis.
“The enlargement of fossil fuels is incompatible with a 1.5C-aligned world — Greenpeace Australia Pacific will proceed to marketing campaign alongside Pacific nations to fast-track the transition to wash, reasonably priced wind and photo voltaic power, the one answer to the power disaster we’re at the moment all going through globally.”
-ENDS-
Media contact
Kate O’Callaghan on +61 406 231 892 or [email protected]
