Pacific island nations are pressing ahead with plans to decarbonise shipping and cut costly fuel imports, but leaders at this week’s Heads of Maritime meeting warned the region’s ambitions risk stalling without major external finance. Samoa and Kiribati, speaking ahead of the Sixth Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministers’ Meeting (PRETMM), set out fresh details of their plans and the barriers they face.
Samoa has now put a firm number on its renewable goal for nation-wide energy: a target of 70 percent renewable energy by 2030, officials said, and maritime fuel is a central focus of that push. Makerita Atonio-Lese, Samoa’s Assistant CEO Maritime, told Islands the country’s fuel reserves are “currently holding” but that volatility in global markets makes the shift to cleaner alternatives urgent. Samoa is investigating a suite of options, including green ammonia and biofuels, alongside expanded use of solar and other renewable technologies in its maritime fleet.
The government is developing a National Decarbonisation Strategy with regional partners and support from the International Maritime Organization to map how to reduce emissions across shipping and strengthen long-term energy security. Atonio-Lese said Samoa is examining “alternative technologies, and alternative fuels that we are looking to scale up,” and cited ammonia as one of the fuels under consideration because it can be produced from renewable power. She stressed, however, that ambition must be matched by funding: “The technology, the set up and all the measures to introduce it is very expensive, that is why we need donor funding in order for us to implement it as we do not have allocated funds.”
Kiribati’s maritime leadership set out a different set of immediate obstacles: ageing infrastructure and a shortage of technical expertise are slowing progress, the country’s Director of Maritime Ruoikabuti Tioon said. “Outdated infrastructure and limited technical expertise are slowing progress toward safer and more sustainable maritime systems,” Tioon told delegates, adding that human resource gaps are as pressing as equipment shortages. She urged recruitment of younger people into the maritime sector to bolster safety and technical capacity across Kiribati’s dispersed island networks.
The comments underline a common theme across Pacific delegations at the meeting: many governments know what they want to do to cut fuel dependence and emissions, but lack the capital, technical support and trained workforce to implement transitions quickly. For island economies that rely heavily on shipping for basic goods and connectivity, the stakes include not just emissions reductions but affordability, energy security and safer transport.
Delegates signalled they will continue to press development partners and multilateral agencies for funding and technical assistance at PRETMM. The latest development is therefore less about new policy than about making the case for finance: Pacific officials are consolidating national plans—like Samoa’s decarbonisation strategy—and seeking commitments that would allow pilot projects and scale-up of alternative-fuel technologies across the region.
Whether international financiers and donors respond with the scale and speed required will determine how fast Samoa, Kiribati and other Pacific islands can move from planning to actual replacement of imported fossil fuels in shipping — a transition leaders say is essential to reduce vulnerability to market shocks and climate impacts.