Palau investing in green energy

by Sonya Artero

Guam - Because Palau is a pacific island nation that doesn't have its own source of fossil fuel, it has to import its oil from Singapore, which as Guam can attest, is extremely expensive.  So by combining the subject of energy with the threat of climate change various island leaders, such as Palau's president Johnson Toribiong, came to the conclusion that investing in renewable energy is a must!

"The Green Energy Movement, which we named GEM, Green Energy Micronesia initiative is a goal which should be pursued even if there is no threat posed by climate change, because fossil fuel is finite, which will one day be depleted," he said.

Now despite recent allegations that global warming is a farce, Toribiong feels that using green energy as an antidote to climate change is still a win-win situation.  "Even if the threat is not real, we should not take a back seat and wait it out, we should take an affirmative action and the most conservative course of action," he said.

So as part of Palau's green initiatives, for every light bulb you turn in, the government gives you three energy efficient bulbs. This, in addition to ensuring government offices are powered by solar energy.  "We have solar panels at the capital, our office courtesy of the EU, we have panels at our hospital courtesy of the republic of China, Taiwan and now Japan will install solar panels at our airport terminal building," Toribiong continued.

The president's goal is to convert all government buildings to solar energy, and eventually to all villages and every home.