The partnership programme specifically addresses a burning issue for Pacific Small Island States, that of developing energy sources that are also environmentally sustainable. Overall, the initiative seeks to promote the use of green energy technologies, thereby providing solutions to i) the environmental risks associated to the shipping of fuels, which could have harsh economic impacts on tourism, especially in the event of accidents; ii) the growing levels of greenhouse gas emissions, related to the use of fossil fuels; iii) the still not equitable access to energy sources by all segments of the local populations

The Joint Committee formally approves all new projects and decides which project can be implemented directly by the proponent country and which needs the technical assistance of an implementing partner (the IUCN). At national level, each member country establishes an implementation team, usually at ministerial level.

Each project carried out in the framework of the partnership programme:1. Provides Institutional Capacity Development aimed at supporting the States’ efforts for devising and implementing policies and strategies for the development of green energy solutions.2. Carries out a series of field activities dedicated to the actual application of new technologies of renewable sources of energy. All projects are based on the proposals put forward by the partner countries concerned, and always entail training modules.

A Joint Committee coordinates the overall initiative. It includes the representatives of all partners and meets annually (at UN HQ in NY)

Austria, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Luxembourg, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Italy, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Municipality of Milan, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu