A global gathering of island nations in Malta has called for the expansion of renewable energy systems in order to help drive sustainable development.
Some 130 participants from 48 countries, including 15 at ministerial level, discussed the expansion of renewable energy deployment to help reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Private sector participants also took part in the meeting, which was organised by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in early September.
“Most islands around the world today depend for the majority of their energy needs on imported fossil fuels, which are expensive at the best of times and subject to drastic price fluctuations,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin.
“At the same time, we have found examples where island states have decisively overcome particular energy challenges by turning to renewables.”
Comparative isolation, small market size, and reliance on fuel imports leave island states highly exposed to global economic fluctuations. Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as those in the Pacific, Indian Ocean and Caribbean are particularly vulnerable.
Increased use of renewable sources and technologies would strengthen energy security, generate employment and boost social and economic well-being, the island ministers and representatives agreed.
Renewable energy, including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and ocean energy, as well as biofuel, can be generated locally, with solutions tailored for the circumstances of each island.
But many non-island states also share similar energy challenges, said Amin. “Islands therefore can establish the practices that are needed for the global energy industry in the years and decades ahead,” he added.
Amin expressed his hope that the two days of discussions in Malta would be followed by practical actions to deploy renewable energy more widely.
The UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All (“SE4ALL”) initiative launched this year calls for doubling the share of renewables in global energy by 2030.
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