GO NEWSLETTER #1 Ocean, Climate, Future: the OCTs in action

The Energy Transition Community will hold a face-to-face workshop on large-scale renewable energy for isolated island grids in Wallis and Futuna, from October 20 to 24, 2025. Organized by the Green Overseas program, the four-day workshop will bring together participants from the EU's Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) and the UK.

The workshop aims to enhance participants' knowledge of the potential and characteristics of renewable energies, and offer an in-depth understanding of the socio-environmental impacts of solar, wind and hydropower.

The Green Overseas Program's face-to-face technical workshop onlarge-scale renewable energy integration in island grids will be held from 28 to 31 October 2025 in Saint-Eustache.

This four-day workshop will provide an opportunity to enhance knowledge of renewable energy potential, examine socio-environmental impacts and policy frameworks, and explore best practices in grid integration and storage. Field visits will be organized to enable participants to familiarize themselves with systems related to the topic under discussion.

On June 6, 2025, the GO Program and OCTA co-organized an event entitled Financing innovation for the Climate-Ocean-Biodiversity nexus in small islands, in partnership with French Polynesia. The session highlighted the vulnerabilities of OCT coastal ecosystems and the urgent need to develop resilient and sustainable blue economy strategies.

Mr. Ahab Downer, Director of the GO Program, moderated a debate presenting a commissioned analysis of OCT maritime resilience, with a panel of high-level speakers: Dr. Mareva Lechat (French Polynesia), Dr. Stacy Jupiter (Wildlife Conservation Society), and Mr. Emmanuel Baudran (AFD).

On June 12, 2025, the GO Program, with the support of the OCT Youth Network, organized "Oceans in Our Hands", an inspiring youth-led dialogue in collaboration with Nausicaá - Centre National de la Mer.

Ten young ocean advocates from EU OCTs and the UK were invited to UNOC3 and given the opportunity to participate in the presentation of the Youth Declaration for the Ocean, in the presence of notable personalities such as Agnès Pannier-Runacher (French Minister for Ecological Transition) and Peter Thomson (UN Special Envoy for the Ocean).

Program GO also took part in high-level events organized in the Blue Zone. On June 11, 2025, Programme GO participated in a press conference sponsored by the UN and organized by Island Innovation, alongside representatives from Curaçao and New Caledonia. There, GO Program Director Ahab Downer presented ongoing work with Greenland, including efforts to align territorial strategies with the Paris Agreement.

In addition to the official UNOC3 sessions, the GO Program organized a speed networking event, bringing together 65 participants for dynamic and convivial exchanges between territories, generations and institutions.

In a separate initiative, Program GO-sponsored youth delegates from Montserrat and Saint-Martin had the opportunity to share their perspectives on ocean preservation during the very first episode of the SMILO podcast, highlighting the challenges of visibility and representation faced by the OCTs.

The Green Overseas Program team, in collaboration with the Ministère du TEATT, is proud to announce the completion of the pilot project to train hydroponics trainers in Saint-Martin.

This pioneering initiative aims to strengthen climate resilience and food security, particularly following natural disasters, by introducing hydroponics as a sustainable agricultural solution.

Hydroponic systems have been installed in nine schools, including seven primary and two secondary, with capacities ranging from 150 to 300 plants. Staff, students and community members there have grown vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, basil, chives, celery and cucumber, and have already harvested 98 kg of fresh produce since the project was launched.

A total of 27 trainers (16 teachers and 11 community members) have been trained in the techniques, skills and knowledge associated with drip hydroponic systems. They will then be able to share the knowledge and skills acquired with other community members.

This initiative, implemented for the GO Program by local consultant Kristina Adams of Adams Aqualife, underscores Saint-Martin in favor of food security, climate adaptation and resource efficiency, in full coherence with national policies on agriculture and energy transition.