The Northern Marianas inks a major agreement to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045.

The Northern Marianas signed The Blue Planet Climate Agreement on Monday. It’s part of a global effort to pivot away from the reliance on fossil fuels.

CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios, who recently launched the CNMI Green Growth Initiative, said the time to act is now.

“The Commonwealth's transition to renewable energy sources is even more important now more than ever, so I as we’ve seen in our neighboring islands in Micronesia and elsewhere throughout the world, climate change poses a significant threat to our environment, our economy, and our way of life,” he said.

The Blue Planet Alliance is a nonprofit based out of Hawaii. They work with the local government to keep them on track to fulfill the promise of transitioning to cleaner energy.

BPA Executive Director Francois Rogers said, “By having CNMI join the Alliance, along with many, many other islands, that has already signed this agreement, it shows the unity and collective effort that we could do this together and we put our heads together and set our mind and set a deadline, anything is achievable.”

Guam Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio and Senator Amanda Shelton attended the event to support the cause, just after the University of Guam’s Conference on Island Sustainability.

“The Marianas, both Guam and the CNMI, are joined. We're looking at making sure that we can help each other through all of the challenges and the opportunities that we face. And today, the CNMI is taking a step to 100% renewable help to our environment. I mean, we're One Marianas,” said Tenorio.

CNMI leaders hope to build innovative infrastructure that pushes them toward the historic goal.