Renewable energy transition urged as fuel costs soar

Fiji spent $711 million on imported fuel in 2024 — equivalent to 11.9 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) — prompting Pacific economists and diplomats to call for an urgent shift to renewable energy before fuel subsidy support ends in July.

The figure was presented yesterday during the United Nations (UN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Policy Dialogue on Energy Security at Kadavu House in Suva.

Diplomats, representatives of regional organisations and development partners gathered to discuss ways to accelerate the renewable energy transition across the Pacific.

UNDP Pacific economist Taehyun Ryu said Fiji entered the current global fuel crisis with limited fiscal space, with public debt at 81 per cent of GDP and a fiscal deficit of 6.5 per cent.

He said the country's dependence on imported fuel was becoming increasingly unsustainable.

"Each time there was an oil shock, the response was emergency spending. Each time, the structural change did not follow," Mr Ryu said.

He said diesel prices had risen 110 per cent from pre-crisis levels, while petrol prices were up 54 per cent.

Mr Ryu warned prices could settle at a new, permanently higher baseline even if disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz eased.

Vanuatu High Commissioner to Fiji Viranria Brown said Pacific nations could no longer afford the cost of fossil fuel dependence.

"The Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace should not be powered by the very fossil fuels that threaten the life and livelihoods of its own people," Ms Brown said.

UNDP Team Leader for Resilience and Climate Nawaraj Chhetri said solar energy was now cheaper than diesel in several Pacific countries and the transition could create new green jobs.

The dialogue also heard that fuel generates 84 per cent of electricity across 10 Pacific Island countries, a figure that has changed little since 2010.

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