The World Wildlife Fund's New Caledonia office manager says the territory's carbon footprint is incompatible with its desire to be a responsible member of the Pacific islands community.
With the growth in new mining and metal extraction projects, New Caledonia's carbon emissions are set to rise to 36.8 tonnes of CO2 per capita per year in the next couple of years, up from an estimated 13.7 tonnes in 2004.
The WWF's Hubert Geraux says being among the world's heaviest carbon emitters does not bode well for New Caledonia when many Pacific islands are threatened by climate change.
"So in the next years, New Caledonia becomes more and more independent, more and more in link with the Oceania countries; it's not acceptable for them to let us produce and let carbon in the atmosphere like that."
Hubert Geraux has written to the President of New Caledonia, Harold Martin, urging him to develop a more sustainable energy model for the territory.
