Cabinet has approved a National Energy Response Framework that sets out how the Cook Islands will respond at each stage of the ongoing global fuel crisis, giving our community a clear, consistent view of what Government is doing, what is being asked of households and businesses, and how decisions will be made as conditions change.
The framework developed by the Energy Response Technical Working Group and approved by Cabinet uses a traffic-light system across five phases: Green (Monitor), Amber (Prepare), Red (Escalate), Black (Respond) and Recovery (Transition). For each phase the framework sets out the internal government response, the measures that apply to the economy and households, and the communications that go alongside. Any move between phases is a Cabinet decision, taken on advice from the Energy Response Technical Working Group.
The Cook Islands is currently in the Amber phase = Prepare. This reflects rising stress on global fuel supply and prices, where reserves are tight but services continue, and where the most important thing every household and business can do is help our fuel go further.
Prime Minister Hon. Mark Brown said the framework gives the country a clear, structured way through the months ahead.
“We are facing an external shock that we must respond to with discipline and care,” the Prime Minister said. “This framework gives our community certainty about how Government will act at each stage, and what we are asking of every household and business. It also ensures that the Pa Enua are a priority in everything we do.”
“The most important step we can all take right now is to use fuel wisely. Every litre we save today is a litre that goes towards keeping our hospital running, our schools open, our airport moving, and our families supported.”
Financial Secretary Garth Henderson, said the framework brings together work already underway across Government into a single, transparent structure.
“What this framework does is take the work the Energy Response Technical Working Group has been doing: monitoring fuel supply, coordinating across agencies, supporting the Pa Enua, communicating with the public, and gives it shape and predictability,” Mr Henderson said. “Cabinet decisions to move between phases will be guided by clear criteria, and the community will know what phase we are in, what measures are in place, and what is being asked of them at each stage.”
Under the current Amber phase, response measures are already in place. Energy conservation circulars have been issued to public sector agencies, including restrictions on government vehicle use. Free buses and additional bus services have been introduced for three months, and income support has been extended to welfare beneficiaries for the same period. Communications to the public and the tourism sector are encouraging energy conservation across the board.
If conditions worsen, the framework sets out the further measures Government would consider, including, at Red phase, dollar limits on retail purchases of petrol and diesel, mandatory restrictions on government travel and operating hours, and targeted income support for low-income workers. At Black phase, a National State of Emergency would be declared, with temporary electricity rationing and restrictions on non-essential domestic travel among the measures available. Every measure would be targeted, time-limited, and chosen on the basis of effectiveness, business impact, fiscal cost and risk.
The framework places the Pa Enua as a priority in all planning and response measures, recognising that the outer islands face longer resupply times and smaller storage capacity. Island Administrators and Mayors are the trusted local voices, with national messaging adapted, translated and broadcast through Island Government channels and local radio. Additional planning is also underway to strengthen fuel storage, supply coordination and community resilience across the Pa Enua.
The framework also confirms that this crisis sharpens, rather than slows, the Cook Islands’ renewable energy ambition. The country has a renewable energy national goal of 60 per cent by 2030.
