Countries in the distant Pacific region are being hit hard by the global energy crisis. Authorities are scrambling to contain the situation amid fuel shortages and rising food and healthcare costs for ordinary families.
Global oil supplies are declining as the US-Israeli war against Iran disrupts shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which an estimated 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes.
Humanitarian organizations warn that since the start of the Iran war, the prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene in Papua New Guinea have risen by as much as 70%.
"Many of our communities are struggling to get food to remote areas because they rely on ships to deliver it," said Godfrey Bongomin, program director for Papua New Guinea at the humanitarian organization "World Vision". Because transportation to health facilities is unaffordable for some people, they miss out on medical check-ups and don't get life-saving drugs for HIV and tuberculosis, Bongomin added. "This affects their livelihoods," he said.
Pacific countries are the most dependent on diesel for electricity generation globally, the International Finance Corporation said in 2024. According to the Zero Carbon Think Tank (an international research group), in 2022, more than half of the electricity in these countries was produced from diesel, with the exception of Fiji.
In 2025, Pacific nations imported an estimated 2.2 million tons of gasoline, diesel, gas oil and kerosene, mostly from Singapore and South Korea, according to the tracking company "Kpler", which monitors the movement of ships around the world in real time. However, imports for the first half of April were only a quarter of the volumes for the whole of March.
A larger threat looms
The worsening economic situation in Papua New Guinea, where almost 40% of the population lives below the poverty line, is a symptom of a larger threat to Pacific nations that are heavily dependent on fuel imports and sea and air links with the rest of the world.
“Even if the ceasefire holds, it will take time for prices to fall to pre-conflict levels,” said Abdul Abiad, deputy chief economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). "It will be very painful."
The region is particularly vulnerable, as between 8 and 10% of the gross domestic product of its countries goes on fuel, and in Tuvalu this share reaches as high as 27%, he added.
If the conflict is resolved soon, the region's economic growth is expected to slow by almost one percentage point in 2026, to 3.4%, but if the war continues, growth will fall even more significantly.
"China is ready to maintain dialogue with all countries and cooperate to ensure international energy security," said Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, last week in response to a question about the situation in Pacific countries, where China is exerting increasing influence.
Across the Pacific, the crisis is draining the financial resources of households, raising The prices of travel, food and other essential goods have soared, with low-income families being hit hardest, according to representatives of the Catholic charity Caritas.
“Some families are very worried financially. They are asking themselves: OK, can I afford to do this and that, given that food prices are going up?“, said Kim Koh, regional director of Save the Children, from her office in Fiji. (Save the Children).
Mitigation measures
This year's Pacific Islands Forum Presidency Trio, consisting of the past, present and future Presidents of the Forum, agreed to activate a regional emergency management mechanism as a response to the deepening crisis, the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
People in Kiribati are struggling to get to work and school, as well as access healthcare, Caritas reports. Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands have declared states of emergency.
The Cook Islands, Nauru and Papua New Guinea have taken steps to subsidise or reduce rising fuel prices, while governments have urged people not to stock up on panic-buying goods, with some even imposing limits on the number of items a consumer can buy.
In Fiji, ministers have agreed to take a 20% pay cut to help cover some of the cost of fuel, although parliament has yet to approve the change.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters visited Washington earlier this month, where he urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to address fuel supplies to the Pacific, and some countries in the region have raised their concerns with diplomats from Australia and New Zealand.
Canberra is trying to find ways to help, but the priority now is to ensure of domestic supplies, said Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
But the problem is deepening.
"The greatest burden falls on ordinary working people and vulnerable communities," said Lillian Bing, general secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Pacific.
Translation from English: Deyana Hristova, BTA