Country ‘most at risk of natural disasters’ to switch to renewable energy by 2030

The Pacific country of Vanuatu has experienced a number of major natural disasters over the years and according to the United Nations, the country is currently “most at risk of natural disasters” in the world. In order to improve the situation, Vanuatu has decided to switch to renewable energy completely by the year 2030. The small nation became only the 12th country to make this commitment. According to rough estimates, it will cost them around $1.2bn by 2030.

“They are really setting an example for the rest of the world,” said Tagaloa Cooper-Halo, the director of the climate change resilience program at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) when asked about the initiative, according to The Guardian.

“Vanuatu is leading by example in many ways, despite having negligible emissions. They are taking the lead by putting up their plan. This was a monumental effort by their government and all the stakeholders because it takes a lot of work and coordination to arrive at that announcement.”

It is not uncommon for Vanuatu to take positive steps when it comes to energy consumption as they had earlier switched to a carbon-negative model. It means that the nation absorbs more emissions than it produces, and the new initiative will help them in creating a cleaner fuel consumption model.

“Thirty years ago, Vanuatu was the first nation in the world to call for climate polluters to pay for the permanent losses and irreversible damage caused by their emissions,” said Dr Wesley Morgan, a senior researcher at the climate council according to AP.

“Today, Vanuatu is calling for the establishment of a new loss-and-damage finance facility at the UN. To be an effective ally to the Pacific on climate action, Australia should support a new loss-and damage finance facility,” he added.

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