The overall objectives of the Workshop were to garner feedback and finalize the Study being done to establish Regional sustainable energy targets, as well as, to build awareness about the process going forward to fully establish the C-SERMS. Approximately Sixty persons were in attendance including Senior Energy Officials, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives from the public and private sectors of CARICOM Member States, regional Universities and technical experts.
The Workshop facilitated discussions on an updated Draft Report of the C-SERMS which incorporated feedback received at the Second Meeting of the C-SERMS Platform held 6 February 2013. Discussions also addressed the energy efficiency dimension of sustainable energy development and sustainable energy in the transportation sector. Subsequently, the targets will be refined and expanded to include energy efficiency measures and the potential impacts of both renewable energy and energy efficiency in the transportation sector, one of the region’s largest energy consumers.
The Worldwatch Institute (WWI) was engaged in September 2012 by the CARICOM Secretariat under the IDB-funded C-SERMS Project to develop Phase I of the Sustainable Energy Road map. The C-SERMS will provide an implementation framework for the sustainable energy dimension of the CARICOM Energy Policy.
Based on analyses conducted by WWI, and recommendations through the C-SERMS Platform, initial regional targets for the contribution of renewable energy to electricity generation at the national and Community levels, were approved by CARICOM Ministers with responsibility for Energy at the Forty-First Special Meeting of the COTED (Energy). Among the initial targets that have been set are 20%, 28% and 47% for years 2017, 2022 and 2027 respectively, for the contribution of renewable energy to total electricity generation in the Community. Special thanks to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for Hosting the Workshop and to the Government of Germany and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the sponsorship support provided.
