An institution that is geared at hastening CARICOM’s transition to new sustainable and clean energy production systems was inaugurated on Wednesday in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) is designed to assist Member States to navigate the renewable energy and energy efficiency investment climate, and support a modern energy landscape for sustainable development in the Region. The CCREEE is also to be an implementation hub for the CARICOM Energy Policy, Roadmap and Strategy.
At the inauguration ceremony Wednesday morning, Secretary-General of CARICOM, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque said that the event was timely, and it was a credit to the Community that such a critical institution came to fruition a year after it was recommended. Last November, at the request of Dominica’s Prime Minister, the Hon Roosevelt Skerrit, a recommendation from a technical validation workshop of senior energy and policy experts was placed before the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). The COTED endorsed the proposal and recommended it to the CARICOM Heads of Government for approval which was granted in July at their 36th Summit.
The Secretary-General said that the CCREEE would function as a centre of excellence and would build a critical mass of Regional experts who would be expected to improve on porgrammes and projects in sustainable energy across the Community.
Given the importance of energy to the Region’s economic development, the Secretary-General pointed out that significant economic benefits could be derived from energy efficiency and making the shift from expensive imported oil to indigenous sources of energy. The investment in energy infrastructure that was required over the next few years to replace the ageing inefficiency power plants would account for about US$20B, the Secretary-General said.
Through its energy interventions, it will stimulate the Regional economy and provide predictability in supply and affordability in prices which will translate into benefits to the people of the Region. The Centre will assist Member States in achieving their domestic targets for energy efficiency and increasing the shares of renewables in the electricity supplies mix. The Centre must provide hands-on assistance to our Member States in the preparation of investment and financing proposals, and in the formation of public-private partnerships,” Ambassador LaRocque said.
The Secretary-General also expressed the hope that the Centre would serve as the crossroad for collaboration among industry, government and academia “as we seek pragmatic solutions to our shared problems of which energy has been identified as a major area of concern”.
With the inextricable linkage between climate change and energy, CCREEE’s work will also include climate change.
For CARICOM Member States, energy issues are inextricably linked to climate change. For us, climate change represents an existential threat. It is an ironic if not paradoxical development given that collectively, we contribute less than 0.2% of greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, as a matter of not only enlightened self-interest, but as also as a moral and economic imperative, we are duty bound to implement measures that are necessary for climate change mitigation. The work of CCREE will also directly contribute to addressing the climate change crisis,” he said.
Among the development partners which supported the Centre and which the Secretary-General thanked are SIDS Dock, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the European Union (EU), and the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ).
