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The mighty ocean…“small islands’ resource of last resort” – Prime Minister of Tonga at COP28
calls for financing of ocean energy in small islands and coastal LDCs
Announces $500 million indicative project pipeline of ocean energy projects
Mr. Vaʻinga Tōnē, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations and Chair of the SIDS DOCK Executive Council, and Chairman of the SIDS DOCK COP28 Side Event (left in photo), greets His Excellency Lord Fohe, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Government of the Kingdom of Tonga, (centre of photo), and Mr. Georg Locher, Minister Plenipotentiary, Head of Unit for Development Policy, Environment and Climate, Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Government of Austria (right in photo).
8 December 2023, Dubai Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE): “SIDS are in a desperate situation, as we have little space left to deploy land-based solar PV and wind to meet our energy needs. The ocean is our resource of last resort,” said the Honourable Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni (Hon. Huʻakavameiliku), Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga and President of the SIDS DOCK Assembly, in his remarks read at a SIDS DOCK side event on financing ocean energy in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) at COP28, on 6th December 2023, held at the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Pavilion. The Prime Minister’s remarks were delivered by Mr. Vaʻinga Tōnē, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations and Chair of the SIDS DOCK Executive Council.
Hon. Huʻakavameiliku quoted His Majesty King Tupou VI of the Kingdom of Tonga, who said in his opening statement at the COP28 high-level segment for Heads of State or Government, that “SIDS have done so much, for so long, with so little, and we have done everything asked of us. So now, we are here to seek your support in helping us to capitalize on our greatest resource – the ocean, that can provide energy for all of us, whether in the Pacific, the Caribbean or the African and the Indian Ocean.”
In June 2022, Hon. Huʻakavameiliku launched the Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA) in Lisbon, Portugal, at the UN Ocean Conference, in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centers (GN-SEC), with support from the Government of Austria, that catalyzed the development, for the first time in SIDS, of an indicative project pipeline of ocean energy projects that includes thermal, wave, offshore wind and marine biofuels, with investment potential of over $500 million.
“I commend the Government of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, for leading the way with the first ocean project in the pipeline in April 2022, and recognize the work done by the Hon. Adelino Rosa Cardoso and his team at the Ministry for Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Environment, for accelerating the development of the first Floating Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) facility in SIDS, a 1.5-megawatt (MW) Floating OTEC platform called “Dominique,” off the coast of Sao Tome island, scheduled for deployment in late-2025, and being developed in partnership with Global OTEC, a United Kingdom-based private sector technology company.
OTEC was high on the agenda, as Ambassador Tōnē and Dr. Tapugao Falefou, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tuvalu to the United Nations and the SIDS DOCK Executive Council Member from Tuvalu, shared their experiences from a November 2023 Pacific SIDS High-Level Learning Tour of the Okinawa Prefecture Deep Ocean Water Research Center, on the island of Okinawa, Japan, that was sponsored by the Government of Japan, which they described as eye-opening and convincing. The 10+ year old 100 kw OTEC facility on Kumejima, not only provides the energy for the small island but also supports startups engaged in mari-culture, cosmetics and food production. Presentations on OTEC and wave energy were delivered by Mr. Dan Grech, Founder and CEO of Global OTEC, and Dr. Laurent Albert, CEO, Seabased Group, based in Ireland, who delivered a presentation on Seabased wave energy project in Tonga, which is in the process of developing the first wave energy park in the Pacific.
During the SIDS DOCK side event held in the margins of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP28), on the “Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA) and the Call For Ocean Climate Action! “Driving The Blue And Green Economy Aspirations Of Small Island Developing States Through Ocean Energy,” remarks were delivered Mr. Georg Locher, Minister Plenipotentiary, Head of Unit for Development Policy, Environment and Climate, Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Government of Austria, and Mr. Ciyong Zou, Deputy to the Director General and the Managing Director of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), who both called on the multilateral agencies and development banks to help the SIDS by providing support to the private sector to help derisk their ocean energy projects. Additionally, Hon. Dr. Vince Henderson, LPD, Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy of the Commonwealth of Dominica, and former Chair of the SIDS DOCK Executive Council, shared lessons learned in financing geothermal energy in Dominica.
The side event was attended by other dignitaries, including His Excellency Lord Fohe, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Government of the Kingdom of Tonga, the Hon. Walter Roban, Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, Government of Bermuda, and Mr. Tony Imaduwa, Principal Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change, Government of the Republic of Seychelles and the SIDS DOCK Executive Council Member from Seychelles, along with senior representatives from the Governments of Barbados, Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Samoa, Seychelles, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Tonga, Japan, Ireland, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Climate Institute, RTI International, Climate VC, and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
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SIDS DOCK is a United Nations (UN)-recognised international organisation established in 2015, with all the rights and privileges for addressing climate change, resilience, and energy security in small islands. SIDS DOCK represents 32 small islands and low-lying developing states across the globe. It is so named because it is designed as a “DOCKing station” to connect the energy sector in SIDS with the global markets for finance and sustainable energy technologies. The organisation’s work is coordinated by the Secretariat in Belmopan, Belize.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Neves Duncan, Chief of Staff, SIDS DOCK Secretariat
Email: secretariat@sidsdock.org; cduncan@sidsdock.org
