What Is an Island, Really?

When is an island not an island?

Belize is not an island. Or is it?

Altun Ha Mayan ruins in Belize.

Ditto Suriname.

Tree frog in Suriname.

Both of those countries are defined, in development terms, as Small Island Developing States (SIDS), although neither is, technically speaking, an island. But land-based Belize and Suriname are included in the SIDS group because of their low-lying coastal locations and economies that depend on a small number of activities. They are both also considered Caribbean countries (as is Guyana).

Our mission at Blue Planet Alliance is to eventually get all countries to transition to 100% renewable energy and end climate change. We started with islands, because 1) because we played a major hand in helping Hawaii become the first U.S. state to legally mandate a transition to 100% renewable energy, and 2) because islands are the least responsible for — and the most vulnerable to — the negative effects of climate change.

So we wanted to take our learnings from Hawaii and share them with other islands, so we could help them enjoy the three Es: Economic Relief, Energy Independence, and an Existential Future.

In our mission to do so, we are inviting islands (roughly 10 at a time) to come to Hawaii and share with them what we learned about the benefits of going 100% renewable — and how to get there. We dubbed it the Blue Planet Alliance Fellowship program, and we’ve had 18 islands join us in our first two cohorts, first in October 2023, and then last May.

BPA Fellowship: Cohort III

Now for our third cohort — taking place this week — we have our most geographically diverse group yet, featuring Belize (in Central America); Suriname (in South America); Antigua and Barbuda, Curacao, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (all in the Caribbean); the Cook Islands, Nauru, and Rapa Nui (all in the Pacific Ocean), and St. Helena (smack in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean).

We are so excited, not only to share with them what we have learned on our journey, but also to learn from them what they know, and how we can be a resource to help all 28 islands that have participated so far. At our second cohort in May, we launched the Blue Team, a squad of Hawaii-based experts who have great familiarity with the logistics — legislatively, regulatorily, academically, technically, economically, and scientifically — and who we provide as a free resource to all Fellow countries.

We also see out pathway to 70 islands in this program: 20+ more in 2025, and 20+ more in 2026. Imagine the kind of diplomatic pressure an Alliance 70-members strong can put on the globe’s biggest polluters. That is why we are convinced that Blue Planet Alliance is a game-changing solution to climate change.

And that’s the kind of thinking that goes into not limiting an “island” to being surrounded by water!

Learn more about the Fellowship Program here.