The Pacific Energy Summit wrapped up on Tuesday, with Australia and other countries committing to ploughing hundreds of millions of dollars into renewable energy projects in the region.
The Pacific Energy Summit is a joint initiative designed to enable Pacific countries and territories to work with development partners towards goals of implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives.
This year’s Summit aimed to build on the momentum established at the Pacific Islands Forums in 2011and 2012, and at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) conference in Malta last year.
According to Radio New Zealand, $635 million will go to forty clean energy projects, consisting of $255 million in grant funding and $380 million in concessional loans.
Major aid donors include the United Arab Emirates, the World Bank, the European Union, Australia and Japan and the funding should result in most Pacific countries generating around half their energy from renewable sources within five years.
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