Fueling the Renewable-Energy Revolution
The transition away from fossil fuels is getting more and more support
Suva, Fiji — Following on the heels of Blue Planet Alliance’s own successful fellowship program and workshop in Hawaii in October, our BPA team was in Fiji this week participating in a similar workshop. Both programs were geared toward helping island nations transition to renewable energy, away from carbon-based fuels.
The Fiji program program — “Regional Workshop on Accelerating Clean Energy Transitions and Resilience in Pacific Island Countries,” which took place Nov. 15 and 16 — was a collaboration led by our Blue Planet Alliance partner, Arizona State University, along with the University of the South Pacific (in Fiji), the Pacific Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (PCREEE, based in Tonga), and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI, based in South Korea).
Blue Planet Alliance Executive Director Francois Rogers speaking at the Regional Workshop on Accelerating Clean Energy Transitions and Resilience in Pacific Island Countries in Suva, Fiji.
“It is exciting to be part of such a collective of impressive leadership from islands and countries around the Pacific and beyond,” said Francois Rogers, Executive Director of Blue Planet Alliance and one of the program’s expert speakers. “Each participant has such determination to figure out how to transition to a 100% renewable-energy future. The level of discussion, while technical, also addresses a wide swath of perspectives on such a transition, including the community piece of the puzzle.”
The program is overseen by Arizona State’s Laboratory for Energy And Power Solutions (LEAPS), and is working with Pacific Island nations that include Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Micronesia (Federated States of), New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, with participation by South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and further support from USAID, the Austrian Development Agency, and Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Development.
The workshop also produced positive energy as we prepare to delve into COP28 in Dubai.
