European commissioner for development Andris Pielbalgs and New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully will undertake a joint mission to the Pacific from April 23 to 27.

The visit will focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, several of them co-financed by New Zealand and the European Union (EU), in Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati (including Christmas Island) and the Cook Islands.

Commissioner Pielbalgs will also travel to Papua New Guinea from April 28 to 30 to discuss development challenges with members of the government and is set to launch two projects worth almost '‚¬60 million.

'€œRenewable energy is something I am strongly committed to. Energy is crucial for education and health care, for growth, tourism and even for the supply of water. In short, renewable energy is the country'€™s main route toward growth and development,'€ commissioner Pielbalgs said ahead of the trip, in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The Pacific Islands are the victims of the adverse effects of climate change, where rising sea levels have an impact on every aspect of citizens'€™ lives and hamper economic development.

The difficulties they face are exacerbated by extremely high fossil fuel costs due to their isolated location and by the lack of access to electricity on the outer islands, the EU said.

'€œNew Zealand places great value on our partnership with the EU in the Pacific. Converting the region to renewable energy is critical and it is only happening at such a rapid pace because of our close cooperation with the EU,'€ said Minister McCully.

Among programs to be launched or visited are solar panels to provide renewable electricity on three of Tuvalu's outer islands, which will make reliable clean electricity available for the first time, and the construction of six photovoltaic power plants in the region, including the energy-dependant Cook Islands, co-financed with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In Kiribati, a project will provide people with access to an environmentally-safe source of construction material, therefore protecting vulnerable shores from aggregate mining. (ebf)

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