The Pacific’s biggest regional energy and transport gathering opened this week with a cultural welcome and a blunt warning: the region can no longer afford dependence on imported fossil fuels. At the Sixth Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministers’ Meeting (PRETMM6), Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape told ministers and senior officials that geopolitical tensions have exposed how fragile Pacific supply lines can be, and urged an urgent shift to cleaner, more reliable energy systems.
“Continued reliance on fossil fuels not only contributes to a heavy carbon footprint but also exposes our economies to external shocks and risks of supply disruption,” Marape said, pointing to recent unrest in the Middle East as an example of how global conflict can jeopardise fuel shipments and push up prices. He warned that such disruptions hit Pacific families quickly — by driving up transport, food and everyday living costs — and stressed that governments must move now to shield small island economies from those shocks.
Marape used the platform to position Papua New Guinea as a potential regional supplier of cleaner energy, citing the country’s “vast hydropower, geothermal, solar and wind potential.” His remarks framed PNG not only as a consumer vulnerable to global markets, but as a prospective producer and partner in a regional transition away from imported petroleum.
Pacific Community (SPC) Director‑General Paula Vivili backed the call for urgency while emphasising complexity: there is no single fix for the Pacific’s connectivity and energy challenges. “Scaling connectivity for a prosperous Blue Pacific will not come from one solution, it will come from many actions working together,” Vivili said, listing stronger maritime systems, affordable and secure energy, better planning and deeper partnerships as critical pillars.
A striking element of the meeting’s opening came from youth representative Iampela Popena, who said young people in PNG — roughly 60 percent of the population — are ready to lead but need supportive systems. “Our young people are not waiting to be led. They are ready to lead,” she told delegates, urging that leadership “meet them halfway” with trust, platforms and investment to scale home‑grown solutions, businesses and advocacy.
Ministers begin substantive talks this week with a packed agenda that includes discussions on reducing fossil fuel dependence, modernising land and sea transport, sourcing finance for a green transition, and whether to endorse the Pacific One Maritime Framework — a Pacific‑led roadmap expected to shape the region’s maritime systems. For many attendees, the framework’s endorsement is a central test of whether rhetoric about change will be translated into coordinated action.
The meeting’s focus comes as Pacific governments have already warned of the near‑term impacts of rising global fuel prices and as international progress on shipping decarbonisation has faced delays. That backdrop has sharpened calls for regional solutions that combine renewable energy deployment, resilient maritime planning and youth engagement. Delegates at PRETMM6 say the practical challenge now is turning those plans into projects that reach communities before another fuel shock underscores the region’s vulnerability.