Ramos-Horta defends offshore gas as funding for Timor-Leste’s green transition
Timor-Leste’s president said an agreement with Woodside Energy and the Australian government would be finalised soon.
President José Ramos-Horta has argued that Timor-Leste must develop offshore gas to finance its eventual move towards green energy. Speaking at the Global Citizen NOW: Perth 2026 Summit on 19 October 2026, he described resources including Greater Sunrise as necessary for the nation’s survival.
Ramos-Horta said Timor-Leste would shortly finalise a new agreement involving Woodside Energy and Australia’s federal government. He defended the country’s pursuit of gas development despite its endorsement of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The president said national electrification stood at 100%, but high diesel costs threatened investment. He also highlighted a recently launched solar project involving France’s EDF and Japanese partners, intended to provide electricity to 100,000 households.
Ramos-Horta argued that developing countries could not give up fossil fuels while bureaucratic delays and unfulfilled commitments constrained international climate assistance. Access to climate funds often took up to four years, he said. He also said traditional OECD donors had sharply reduced development assistance and humanitarian budgets as they shifted funding towards the war in Ukraine and refugee relief in Europe.
