Regional E-Mobility Policy Framework, Pacific Island Countries

Year: 2021–2022  |  Client: World Bank / Pacific Centre for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency (PCREEE)  |  Country: Pacific Islands (regional)

Cities Forum led a regional technical-assistance project supporting the World Bank and PCREEE in developing a comprehensive e-mobility policy framework and technical guidelines for Pacific Island Countries, covering jurisdictions such as Fiji, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands. Island economies share a distinctive set of constraints, limited road networks, small fleets, vulnerable power systems, high fossil-fuel dependency and acute climate exposure, that make generic e-mobility policy a poor fit. The assignment set out to give the region a shared, fit-for-purpose reference that still allowed for national differences.

Our approach

The methodology combined regional policy diagnostics, country-level barrier analyses, and cost–benefit and total-cost-of-ownership comparisons between battery-electric and internal-combustion vehicles adapted to island conditions, alongside an in-depth review of global best practice in e-mobility policy and technical standards. From this, Cities Forum produced a regional policy framework articulating shared principles, harmonised guidelines and instrument toolkits for vehicle import, charging infrastructure, incentives, procurement and data collection, designed as a common backbone that each country could tailor to its own circumstances.

What we delivered

The accompanying technical guidelines covered vehicle homologation, charging-equipment specifications, road-safety considerations, integration with renewable-energy generation, and end-of-life battery management, the practical detail that determines whether policy translates into safe, workable deployment. Deliverables included the inception report, the regional framework document, the technical guidelines, country-specific annexes and recommendations for implementation mechanisms.

Impact

The work equipped Pacific island governments, regional institutions and development partners with a shared reference to align national e-mobility strategies, mobilise climate and energy finance, and accelerate sustainable-transport transitions across the region. By balancing regional harmonisation with national flexibility, and by grounding recommendations in island-specific technical and economic realities, Cities Forum helped turn a fragmented set of national ambitions into a coherent regional agenda. The project consolidated the firm's expertise in small island developing states and its relationships with the World Bank and PCREEE, and complemented its country-level Pacific work (such as the Nauru e-bus system and Tuvalu technical assistance) with the regional policy architecture needed to scale it.