The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, has told the region's Energy Ministers that the Pacific needs more co-ordination in its efforts to improve energy efficiency.
At the Energy Ministers' conference in Tonga, Mr Slade says the question of energy crystallizes the precarious security of small island communities.
He says all Forum member countries continue to grapple with the effects of climate change and the consequences of dependence on fossil fuels.
Mr Slade told the Energy Ministers that energy cannot be thought of as somehow separate to issues of economic development, infrastructure, transport, climate change or food security.
He says if this not grasped then Pacific countries open the door to increasing national fragility, and in some cases, the viability of their communities.
