The Energy Challenge in Small Island States and Territories: The Case of the South-West Indian Ocean Small Islands

Small island developing states (SIDS) and comparable small insular territories are of limited sizes, possess vulnerable economies, rely on a limited local resource base and are environmentally fragile. ¹ Among several other constraints to their development is that, while they usually do not possess fossil fuel resources, they nonetheless rely principally on them to fulfill their energy needs. ² This is exactly what is found in the small island states and territories of the South-West Indian Ocean where fossil fuels account for some three quarters of the combined total primary energy consumption of Comoros, Mauritius, Mayotte (France), Réunion (France) and Seychelles. Even in Réunion and Mauritius, where energy production from local sources is the most developed, the islands must import more than three quarters of their total energy needs (in terms of primary energy requirements).